California Juvenile Court: Understanding the Process and Your Rights

Every year, thousands of youths are funneled through California’s juvenile courts. Although the focus is to rehabilitate rather than punish, the state’s juvenile justice system is traumatic and can have lasting repercussions on your child’s future.

However, there are many juvenile justice options that do not involve being locked up in a detention facility. Plus, most juvenile records can be sealed after your child turns 18.

As former deputy district attorneys who once prosecuted juveniles, we now use our insider knowledge to represent them.  Our California juvenile criminal defense lawyers want to keep your child out of custody and help get their life back on track.

In this article, we provide a comprehensive overview of the juvenile court justice system in California:

• 1. Juvenile Court
• 2. Jurisdiction
• 3. Court Process
• 4. Sentences
• 5. Other Consequences
• Additional Resources

1. Juvenile Court

In California, juvenile delinquency court hears felony and misdemeanor cases allegedly perpetrated by minors (under 18 years old). Juvenile court also handles “status offenses” like truancy and curfew violations, which are unlawful only when committed by minors.

Juvenile cases are largely kept confidential. Plus trials – called “adjudication hearings” – are decided by judges rather than juries.

Juvenile court judges do not find a minor “guilty” or “not guilty.” Instead, if the judge finds beyond a reasonable doubt that the minor committed the alleged crime, the judge “sustains the petition” filed by the district attorney.

In Los Angeles specifically, the Superior Court’s Juvenile Division oversees juvenile delinquency court as well as:

• informal juvenile court, which deals with infractions and low-level misdemeanors, and
• juvenile dependency court, which deals with abused, neglected and abandoned children.¹

This article deals only with juvenile delinquency court. When we use the term “juvenile court,” we are referring to juvenile delinquency court.

2. Jurisdiction

California juvenile courts have jurisdiction over offenses allegedly committed by minors who are 12 to 17 years old at the time of the incident.

If someone commits a crime at age 17 but it is not discovered or tried until they are 20, they can still be tried in juvenile court. Juvenile court jurisdiction terminates when the person reaches the age of 21.

Meanwhile, children under 12 years old can be tried in juvenile court only if they are charged with murder, rape, sodomy, oral copulation, or sexual penetration by force, violence, or threat of great bodily harm.²

When Minors Are Tried as Adults

In cases involving 16- or 17-year olds accused of the most serious crimes – called “Section 707(b) offenses” – prosecutors can request a “transfer hearing” where the judge may choose to charge the minor as an adult in criminal court. Factors the judge considers are:

1. the degree of criminal sophistication exhibited by the minor,
2. whether the minor can be rehabilitated prior to the expiration of juvenile court jurisdiction,
3. the minor’s previous delinquent history,
4. the success of any previous attempts to rehabilitate the minor, and
5. the circumstances and gravity of the offenses alleged in the petition.

Note that 14- or 15-year-olds who allegedly committed a Section 707(b) offense can be transferred to adult court only if they were not arrested until they were at least 18.

Click here for the full list of Section 707(b) offenses

• Murder.
• Arson causing great bodily injury or of an inhabited structure.
• Robbery.
• Rape with force, violence or threat of great bodily harm.
• Sodomy by force, violence or threat of great bodily harm.
• A lewd or lascivious act on a child under 14 with force, violence or threat of great bodily harm.
• Oral copulation by force, violence or threat of great bodily harm.
• Forcible sexual penetration.
• Kidnapping for ransom.
• Kidnapping for purposes of robbery.
• Kidnapping with bodily harm.
• Attempted murder.
• Assault with a firearm or destructive device.
• Assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury.
• Discharge of a firearm into an inhabited or occupied building.
• An offense described in Section 1203.09 of the Penal Code against a person who is over 60 or disabled.
• An offense described in Penal Code Section 12022.5 or Penal Code 12022.53 pc personal use of a firearm.
• A felony offense in which the minor personally used a weapon listed Penal Code Section 16590(a).
• A felony offense described in Penal Code 136.1 pc dissuading a witness or Penal Code Section 137 bribery of a witness.
• Manufacturing, compounding, or selling one-half ounce or more of a salt or solution of a controlled substance specified in Health & Safety 11055(e).
• A violent felony, which also would constitute a felony violation of Penal Code 186.22(b) criminal street gang sentencing enhancement.
• Escape, by the use of force or violence, from a county juvenile hall, home, ranch, camp, or forestry camp if great bodily injury is intentionally inflicted upon an employee of the juvenile facility.
• Torture.
• Aggravated mayhem.
• Carjacking.
• Kidnapping for purposes of sexual assault.
• Kidnapping during a carjacking.
• Penal Code Section 26100 pc drive-by-shooting.
• Exploding a destructive device with intent to commit murder.
• Voluntary manslaughter.¹⁰

If the minor remains in juvenile court and is sentenced to a youth detention facility for the 707(b) offense, the juvenile court’s jurisdiction lasts until the minor turns 25 years old (with some exceptions).³

3. Court Process

The California juvenile court process cycles through the following seven steps:

1. The minor is arrested. Things may end right there if the police decide to release the minor with a simple reprimand.
2. If the police take the child to the county probation department, they may be detained at juvenile hall.
3. The prosecution may then file a petition against the minor. A petition is like a criminal complaint filed in adult court.
4. The minor then appears at the detention hearing, which is similar to an arraignment in adult court. There the child can enter an initial plea, and the judge will decide whether to release them or keep them in custody during the case.
5. If the minor was charged with a particularly serious crime (as we discussed in the previous section), the prosecutor may initiate a transfer hearing. Then the judge will decide whether the minor should be transferred to adult criminal court or remain in juvenile court.
6. If the minor remains in juvenile court, the minor may have an adjudication hearing (like a trial) where the judge decides the verdict.
7. If the judge “sustains the petition” at the adjudication hearing, then the judge will schedule a disposition hearing where the child is sentenced.

At each stage, the prosecutor and defense attorney may reach a resolution and go straight to disposition. Also, if errors are made, there may be one or more re-hearings.

The law provides timelines and procedures for when and how each of these hearings takes place. Parents are entitled to attend each court hearing.⁴

4. Sentences

A number of different sentencing options – called “dispositions” or “sanctions” – are available in the California juvenile delinquency system.

For first-time offenses of minor crimes such as vandalism, shoplifting, or trespass, the child will likely be placed in a diversion, informal probation, or a deferred entry of judgment program. In more serious cases, the child may be committed to formal probation or even juvenile detention.

Continue reading for more information on these sentencing options.

Diversion – W&I 654

When a juvenile judge grants a child diversion (through California Welfare & Institutions Code 654), the case is “diverted” to probation before a petition filing takes place.¹² The probation officer will then develop a plan for the minor that lasts no longer than six months.

If the minor successfully completes the terms (which generally include education and counseling), the case ends without a petition ever getting filed. Though if the minor fails to perform, the probation officer can still initiate formal petition proceedings with the juvenile court.⁵

Informal Probation – W&I 725

The main difference between diversion and informal probation (under California Welfare & Institutions Code 725) is that with informal probation, the petition actually gets filed.¹³ However, the petition is placed on hold while the minor is given six months to complete all the probationary terms.

The minor never admits guilt and – so long as the minor complies with the probation conditions – the petition gets dismissed. Probation conditions generally include:

• school attendance,
• counseling for both the minor and their parents,
• curfew,
• drug testing, and
• restitution.⁶

Informal probation is common in cases involving juvenile drug possession in California.

Deferred Entry of Judgment (DEJ)

Deferred entry of judgment (under Welfare & Institutions Code 790) requires the minor to admit guilt as to the petition’s allegations. However, the minor can withdraw their admission of guilt if they complete the DEJ program, at which point the case will be dismissed.

DEJ is available for first-time felonies that are not Section 707(b) offenses. It lasts between 12 and 36 months.

One landmark DEJ case in California involved a 17-year-old charged with possession of marijuana for sale and transporting marijuana. Although the crimes were serious, she was granted DEJ because the probation department believed she would benefit from education, treatment, and rehabilitation.⁷

Formal Probation at Home or Camp

If a California juvenile court declares the minor to be a ward of the court – which means the court is taking over primary responsibility for control and treatment of the child – the court can sentence the minor to a term of formal probation.

Sometimes wards can complete their probation at home even though they are wards of the court. In other cases, the court will assign the ward to a “suitable placement” in a relative’s home or in a group home, such as a level 14 group home for emotionally disturbed minors.

Probation terms can include anything reasonably necessary for the rehabilitation of the minor, including:

• mandatory school attendance,
• curfew restrictions,
• substance abuse counseling,
• not hanging out with certain people,
• community service,
• graffiti removal, and
• restitution.

Minors needing a greater level of structure can be sent to one of California’s several dozen “probation camps” for three months to one year. Most camps are dormitory-based environments with a structured daily schedule involving education and treatment programs.

A handful of other kinds of probation camps also exist in California, including:

• “wilderness/fire camps,” which emphasize forestry and firefighting training,
• military-style “boot camps,” and
• family-style “Missouri-model” camps, which focus on small-scale, intensive treatment.

In Orange County’s “Pups and Wards” program, minors “rehabilitate” themselves while training rescue dogs for adoptive families. At Sonoma County’s rustic and fenceless probation camp, minors who have been unsuccessful elsewhere build self-esteem while constructing redwood picnic tables and fire pits.⁸

Juvenile Detention

Aside from adult prison, the most serious penalty a minor can face is a commitment to a county youth detention facility.

Even in juvenile detention, the focus is on education, counseling, and rehabilitation. Inmates are provided schooling in the hopes they can continue their education upon being released.⁹

For more information on the Los Angeles juvenile halls, visit our pages on Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall, and Barry Nidorf / Sylmar Juvenile Hall.

5. Other Consequences

Unfortunately, a juvenile adjudication can follow a child into the future.

Juvenile convictions – called “sustained petitions” – count as strikes under California’s Three Strikes Law. Further, the California Rules of Court allow adult courts to look at juvenile adjudications when making probation and sentencing decisions.²¹

Juvenile adjudications can lead to sex offender registration in California and even civil confinement as a sexually violent predator (“SVP”).

However, in less serious cases, your child may be able to seal their juvenile record once they fulfill their sentence and remain crime-free for a certain period of time. After the record is sealed, your child will be able to state truthfully that they have no criminal history, which opens doors for employment, licensing, loan, educational and other opportunities.⁸

Additional Resources

You can find help and guidance at the following:

• Center of Juvenile and Criminal Justice – A nonprofit with the mission of reducing society’s reliance on incarceration as a solution to social problems.
• Ella Baker Center Books Not Bars Campaign – An organization that works to shift resources from punishment and towards rehabilitation.
• Youth Law Center – Advocates working to transform foster care and juvenile justice systems.
• Juvenile Law Center – Nonprofit, public interest law firm working to lessen the harm of the child welfare and justice systems.

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