California relies on a blanket assumption that children under 14 are legally incapable of committing crimes. This means that even if they physically commit a crime, it will most likely not qualify as such because children this young don’t have the maturity or mental capacity to understand the wrongfulness of their actions. If, however, a prosecutor believes that the child did appreciate the nature of his/her actions, the prosecutor would file the case in juvenile court and arrange for a California juvenile adjudication hearing. This is the equivalent of an adult’s trial.
1. At what age might children appreciate the wrongfulness of their actions?
The answer depends on the individual child, as some children are more mature than others.
With that said, though, some children are definitely too young to appreciate the nature of their actions. For example, if a two-year-old accidentally shot a real gun and killed a parent, the child would have no clue that what he/she did was wrong.
But what if it wasn’t a two-year-old, but rather a ten-year-old? What about a 13-year-old? A 17-year-old? Then the facts of a case come into play. A judge would have to analyze them to determine if the child truly appreciated his/her wrongdoing.
2. When should a child be tried as an adult?
This is a question often raised with the one above. The answer depends on whether a child committed a crime under aggravating circumstances. If yes, then the greater the chance the child would be tried as an adult (2020 update: In Los Angeles county, juveniles are no longer transferred to adult court under LADA Special Directive 20-09.).
If your child has been accused of being involved in a crime, it is critical to hire a California juvenile criminal defense attorney who has experience handling juvenile crimes.
Only this type of seasoned lawyer will know the most effective ways to keep your child out of juvenile court when he/she is simply too young to understand the wrongfulness of his/her actions, or how to keep your child in juvenile court and out of adult court when that is the more appropriate forum. (Refer to our article, “No more life in prison without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders convicted of non-homicide crimes in California.“)
