Pennsylvania Juvenile Defense: What Happens When a Minor Is Charged

When a minor is charged in Pennsylvania, the case usually goes to juvenile court under the Juvenile Act rather than to adult court. If a child is held, a detention hearing must be held within 72 hours. The case may then be resolved informally, heard by a judge, or, for some felonies, transferred to adult court.

A son or daughter may have been picked up at school or at home, may be sitting in a detention center tonight, or may have just been handed papers with a hearing date on them. The questions are usually the same: which court this is, whether the child is coming home, what happens to school, and whether this will follow the child for years. This page walks through how Pennsylvania's juvenile system handles those questions, step by step, from the first police contact to the question of whether the record can later be expunged.

How Pennsylvania's Juvenile Justice System Works

Pennsylvania handles delinquency cases under the Juvenile Act, Chapter 63 of Title 42 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. Whether a case is pending in Philadelphia, Allegheny County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, Bucks County or Lancaster County, the statute and the Pennsylvania Rules of Juvenile Court Procedure set the framework. Local practice can still differ. The federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention notes that case processing often varies from community to community even within a single state.

The vocabulary differs from adult court, and the words matter:

• Petition: the document that formally alleges a child committed a delinquent act. It is not a criminal complaint.
• Detention hearing: the court hearing that decides whether a child who has been held stays in detention or goes home while the case is pending.
• Adjudicatory hearing: the hearing where the court decides whether the allegations in the petition have been proven.
• Disposition: the court's response after a child is found to have committed a delinquent act. It is not a sentence.
• Court supervision and probation: oversight of the child by the court and the juvenile probation office. Probation is a period of supervision with conditions while the child stays in the community.
• Diversion: resolving a case outside the formal petition process. In Pennsylvania this includes informal adjustment.
• Transfer hearing: the hearing where the court decides whether a case should leave juvenile court for criminal proceedings.
• Sealing and expungement: limiting who can see a record, or destroying it. Pennsylvania's juvenile court rule addresses expungement.

Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 6302, a "delinquent child" is a child the court has found to have committed a delinquent act and to be in need of treatment, supervision or rehabilitation. The juvenile court uses the term adjudicated delinquent, not convicted. Everything on this page describes Pennsylvania's rules, not those of any other state.

Ages Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Covers

The age questions come first for many parents. Section 6302 defines a "child" as someone under 18. The definition also includes someone under 21 who committed an act of delinquency before turning 18. A child who turns 18 while the case is pending, or who is accused at 19 of something done at 17, can therefore still fall within the Juvenile Act. How that applies depends on the facts.

The lower boundary is age ten. Section 6302 defines a delinquent child as "a child ten years of age or older" who meets the court's findings. A child under ten who commits a delinquent act or crime, other than a summary offense, falls within the statute's definition of a "dependent child" instead. That is a different kind of case, and this page does not cover it.

Section 6302 also limits what counts as a "delinquent act." The term does not include murder, summary offenses, or a crime committed by a child who has already been found guilty in a criminal proceeding for something other than a summary offense. Under conditions the statute lists, it also excludes certain conduct by a child aged 15 or older. One condition is that a deadly weapon was used. Another is that the child was previously adjudicated delinquent of specified conduct. Where a case like that begins depends on the charge and the child's history.

Separately, a case that does start in juvenile court can, for some felonies, be transferred to adult criminal court. The section below on adult court covers that process.

From Arrest to Hearing: The Steps in a Pennsylvania Juvenile Case

A Pennsylvania juvenile case can begin with an arrest, a written allegation, or a referral to juvenile probation. What happens next depends on the offense and the circumstances. A child may be released to a parent or guardian, referred to a probation officer, or held.

The detention decision. Under Rule 240, the decision-maker examines the written allegation and releases the juvenile unless detention appears to be warranted. Release does not prevent a petition from being filed later. If a child is detained, the rule's comment says the guardian should be notified immediately.

The detention hearing. If the child is not released, a detention hearing must be held no later than 72 hours after the child is placed in detention. Neither the child nor the child's attorney may waive it. If the adjudicatory hearing is not held when Rule 404(A) requires, or a transfer hearing is not held when Rule 391(B) requires, the child must be released. There are exceptions. One allows additional periods of no more than 10 days each, on motion, when the delay was caused by the juvenile. The court must state on the record when that is the case.

Diversion before a petition. Rule 312 lets the juvenile probation officer informally adjust the allegations at any time before a petition is filed. One of the conditions is that the juvenile and the guardian consent, knowing that consent is not required. Under the rule's comment:

• Informal adjustment may last no more than six months, unless the court extends it by up to three more months.
• Before adjusting the case, the probation officer is to give the victim a chance to submit a victim-impact statement.
• Agreed restitution is a condition of successful completion.
• If the juvenile completes the adjustment, the case is dismissed and prosecution is barred.
• If the juvenile does not complete it, a petition may follow.

Whether informal adjustment is offered depends on the case and on the probation officer's decision.

The adjudicatory hearing. If a petition goes forward, the adjudicatory hearing decides whether the allegations are proven. OJJDP describes this hearing as one in which, in nearly all cases nationally, a judge makes the determination. Parents of a teenager facing a serious charge may also find the page on juvenile felony defense useful.

After the Adjudicatory Hearing: Disposition

The adjudicatory hearing answers whether the allegations are proven. Disposition is what follows, and it is the stage many parents are most anxious about.

Two findings come first. Under § 6302, a child is a "delinquent child" only if the court finds both that the child committed a delinquent act and that the child is in need of treatment, supervision or rehabilitation. Proof of the offense alone is not enough. If the court finds the offenses proven and finds that need, the case moves to disposition.

What disposition is, and is not. Disposition is the juvenile court's response to the finding. It is not a sentence, and an adjudication of delinquency is not a criminal conviction. The language reflects the juvenile system's focus on treatment, supervision and rehabilitation.

Probation as one option. Disposition can include probation: a period of supervision by the court and the juvenile probation office, with conditions, while the child stays in the community. The full range of dispositional options available in a given case depends on the case and on the court, and this page does not list them.

When there is no disposition. If the court makes no finding on the offenses, or finds no need for treatment, supervision and rehabilitation, the petition is dismissed rather than moving to disposition. As the records section below explains, the comment to Rule 170 lists those dismissals among the circumstances in which expungement proceedings may begin.

Supervision and the record. The end of supervision matters later. Several of the expungement timelines in Rule 170 are measured from the juvenile's discharge from supervision.

When a Pennsylvania Juvenile Case Can Move to Adult Court

In Pennsylvania, transfer to adult court is a decision the juvenile court makes after a hearing. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 6355(a), once a delinquency petition has been filed, the court may rule, before hearing the petition on its merits, that the offense should be prosecuted criminally. The conditions it lists include these:

• The child was 14 or older at the time of the alleged conduct.
• There is a prima facie case that the child committed the delinquent act.
• The act would be a felony if committed by an adult.
• There are reasonable grounds to believe the public interest is served by transfer, judged by considering factors the statute lists.

Scheduling and burden of proof. Rule 394 requires the transfer hearing to be held no earlier than three days after notice of the transfer request is served, unless that time requirement is waived. Ordinarily the Commonwealth must prove two things. The first is a prima facie case that the juvenile committed a felony delinquent act. The second is, by a preponderance of the evidence, that transfer serves the public interest.

When the burden shifts. That burden on the public-interest question changes when the provisions of § 6355(g)(1) and (2) apply. The rule's comment describes those cases. They involve a deadly weapon used when the juvenile was 14, or a juvenile who was 15 or older and previously adjudicated delinquent of a felony-level crime. In either situation there must also be a prima facie case of one of the listed acts, including rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated assault under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2702(a)(1) or (2), and robbery.

If transfer is not ordered. When the required findings are not met, the court schedules an adjudicatory hearing and the case stays in juvenile court.

If transfer is ordered. The case then proceeds as a criminal prosecution. A conviction there carries adult criminal consequences, including a criminal record.

Other states handle transfer differently. OJJDP notes that in many states prosecutors must file certain serious cases in criminal court. California's transfer rules, explained on the California juvenile defense page, differ again. A transfer request is often the moment the stakes feel highest for a family, and the outcome turns on the findings described above.

A Minor's Rights During Police Questioning in Pennsylvania

Questioning is often where a parent's worry starts, sometimes before there is any charge at all. What must happen before a minor in custody is questioned in Pennsylvania, and what role a parent plays, depends on the facts and on constitutional and statutory rules this page does not set out. This page does not describe what any child should say or do.

Some protections are stated plainly in the Pennsylvania court rules covered on this page.

Statements during informal adjustment. The comment to Rule 312 says incriminating statements a juvenile makes to the juvenile probation officer, and in related discussions or conferences, are not to be used against the juvenile over objection. That applies in any criminal proceeding or any hearing under the Juvenile Act.

The right to counsel. Rule 151 says all juveniles are presumed indigent. If a juvenile appears at any hearing without counsel, the court must appoint counsel before the hearing begins. The guardian's income and resources are not to be used in deciding the question. The court may give the juvenile a reasonable opportunity to retain a private attorney of the juvenile's choosing. The rule's comment adds that counsel may be present at an intake conference or take part in the decision about informal adjustment.

Who the client is. The same comment says something many parents do not expect: the juvenile is the client. An attorney retained by a guardian is to rely on the child, not the guardian, for decisions in the case. For a parent following every detail, that can feel strange. It reflects the rule's concern that a child's legal protections not depend on anyone else's choices.

Notice to the guardian. If a child is detained, the comment to Rule 240 says the guardian should be notified immediately.

Juvenile Records in Pennsylvania: Sealing and Expungement

A juvenile record in Pennsylvania does not disappear at 18, and expungement does not happen on its own. Rule 170 lets expungement proceedings begin on a motion, or on the court's own initiative, in the circumstances it lists. Expungement under that rule addresses the destruction of records, files, fingerprints or photographs.

When proceedings may begin. The circumstances the rule lists include these:

• Dismissal. The written allegation or petition was dismissed. The comment lists examples, including completion of an informal adjustment or diversionary program, the Commonwealth declining to prosecute, no probable cause found at the detention hearing, no finding on the offenses, and no finding of a need for treatment, supervision and rehabilitation.
• Six months after discharge, in consent decree and informal adjustment cases. Six months have passed since the juvenile's final discharge from supervision, and no proceeding seeking adjudication or conviction is pending.
• Five years after discharge under Rule 631. After a discharge from court supervision under Rule 631, five years have elapsed, the juvenile has not been convicted or adjudicated delinquent for a felony or misdemeanor, no proceeding seeking such a conviction or adjudication is pending, and the delinquent act is not one precluded from expungement under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9123(a.1).
• Consent. The attorney for the Commonwealth consents.

How the court decides. The court either holds a hearing or grants or denies the motion. It must consider listed factors, including the type of offense. If the Commonwealth objects, the comment says the court should hold a hearing.

Cases that are not eligible. The comment points to 18 Pa.C.S. § 9123(a.1) for cases that are ineligible for expungement. Eligibility for serious offenses therefore depends on that statute and on the facts.

Who can see a record. Access to a juvenile record depends on Pennsylvania law and on the court's orders.

Consequences outside court. School discipline, college admissions, financial aid and employment consequences can follow a juvenile case. They depend on the facts and on rules this page does not cover. Immigration consequences are governed by immigration law this page does not cover. For cases that began at school, the page on school-related juvenile charges explains more.

What This Site Covers — and What It Does Not

This page explains Pennsylvania's juvenile delinquency process: detention, informal adjustment, the adjudicatory hearing, disposition, transfer to adult court and expungement.

What this page does not cover:

• Pennsylvania dependency proceedings, in which a parent is accused of abuse or neglect, or a child under ten falls within the dependency definition.
• Adult criminal cases, except where a minor's case is transferred.
• Custody disputes and civil claims.
• School discipline where no police or criminal charge is involved.
• The juvenile laws of any other state. For how juvenile cases move more generally, see the overview of juvenile defense.

This page also does not name specific detention facilities, local programs or court divisions in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County or any other Pennsylvania county.

Talking Through a Pennsylvania Juvenile Case

Each stage described on this page, from the detention decision to disposition, transfer and a later expungement motion, turns on the specific allegation, the child's age and history, and the point the case has reached. Some options, such as informal adjustment, exist only at particular stages. This page covers Pennsylvania's delinquency process only, not dependency cases or other states' laws.

To request a consultation about a child's juvenile case in Pennsylvania, contact Juvenile Justice Defense Group.