In California, minors cannot be tried as adults if they are 15 or younger. They can be tried as adults if they are 16 or 17, the crime was serious, and the juvenile court judge allows it. Minors tried as adults and convicted face criminal punishment, including custody time. If they are tried as minors, punishment focuses on rehabilitation.
| Age | Can they be tried as an adult? |
| 18 and over | Yes |
| 16 and 17 | Only if it was a serious crime and the juvenile court judge allows for it |
| 15 and under | No |
Recent changes in California law
The age at which your minor child can be tried as an adult for a crime in California has changed several times in the past few years.
The general rule is that:
- the juvenile court’s jurisdiction covers minors, and
- minors are people under the age of 18.[1]
In 2000, though, California voters passed Proposition 21. This initiative:
- gave prosecutors the discretion to try minors under the age of 18 as adults, and
- required prosecutors to try minors aged 14 or older as adults for certain severe crimes, like murder and serious sex crimes.[2]
In 2016, Proposition 57 passed. This initiative:
- repealed Prop 21, and
- gave juvenile court judges the discretion of whether minors 14 or over can be tried as an adult.
In 2018, Senate Bill 1391 went into effect. This new law:
- forbade prosecutors from trying a minor as an adult if they were under 16 at the time of the offense, unless they were not apprehended until they were 18,
- clarified which offenses could lead to a 16- or 17-year-old being tried as an adult, and
- required the juvenile court judge to agree to transfer the minor to adult court.[3]
In 2021, the California Supreme Court ruled that Senate Bill 1391 amended, but did not violate, Prop 57, and upheld the law.[4]
This is where the law stands now. Minors under 16 cannot be tried as adults. Minors aged 16 or 17 can be tried as adults, but only if:
- the offense was a serious one, and
- the juvenile court judge agrees to transfer the case to adult court.
The juvenile defense attorneys at our law firm have found that only very serious juvenile crimes tend to be handled in adult court.
“Serious” crimes
16- and 17-year-olds can be tried as adults for the following serious criminal charges:
- murder or attempted murder,
- arson,
- robbery,
- rape through force, violence, or threat,
- sodomy or oral copulation through force, duress, menace, or threat,
- lewd acts on a child or dependent,
- forcible acts of sexual penetration with a foreign object,
- kidnapping with bodily harm, for ransom, sexual assault, or robbery, or during a carjacking,
- assault likely to product great bodily injury, or with a firearm or destructive device,
- discharge of a firearm into an inhabited building,
- violent crimes against seniors,
- using a firearm or deadly weapon for a felony,
- intimidating or bribing a witness,
- manufacturing or selling certain controlled substances,
- violent felony offenses while with a gang,
- using force and causing an injury while escaping confinement,
- torture,
- aggravated mayhem,
- carjacking while armed,
- drive-by shooting,
- causing an explosion to commit murder, and
- voluntary manslaughter.[5]
If your minor child was 14 or 15 at the time of one of these alleged crimes, but was not apprehended until they were 18, they can be tried as an adult.[6]
The juvenile judge has to agree to transfer your minor child to adult court during the fitness hearing.
The fitness hearing
The fitness hearing, also known as a transfer hearing, is where the juvenile court judge decides whether your minor child is “fit” for the juvenile justice system.
The prosecutor initiates a transfer hearing by filing a motion in juvenile court. In deciding whether to transfer your minor child to adult court, the juvenile court judge uses 5 factors:
- the degree of criminal sophistication that your child showed during the criminal offense,
- whether rehabilitation is likely before your child turns 18,
- your child’s prior history of juvenile delinquency,
- whether prior rehabilitation has worked, and
- the circumstances and seriousness of the alleged offense.[7]
Our criminal defense attorneys have found that juveniles rarely get transferred to adult court. According to the California Department of Justice:
In 2022, there were 26,000 juvenile arrests, with 17,627 juveniles getting charged. Only 59 juveniles were transferred to adult court.[8]
However, the consequences of being tried as an adult are severe due to the differences between adult and juvenile court.
Differences between juvenile court and adult court
The key difference between juvenile court and adult court is the goal of the criminal justice system:
- the goal of juvenile court system is to rehabilitate the offender, while
- the goal of the adult criminal court system is to punish the offender.
Because of these different goals:
- convictions in adult court can lead to jail time, while those in juvenile court often lead to probation or time in a juvenile facility, like a juvenile hall,
- judges hear juvenile cases, not juries,
- juvenile offenders are not “convicted” or found “guilty” in the criminal case; instead, the judge’s adjudication “sustains the petition” by the district attorney, and
- it is easier to seal juvenile records than criminal records in adult court.
This makes it extremely important to prevent a case from getting transferred to adult court.
Legal Citations:
[1] California Welfare & Institutions Code 602 WIC.
[2] California Proposition 21 (2000).
[3] California Senate Bill 1391 (2018), codified as California Welfare & Institutions Code section 707 WIC.
[4] O.G. v. Superior Court, 11 Cal. 5th 82 (2021).
[5] California Welfare and Institutions Code 707(b) WIC.
[6] California Welfare and Institutions Code 707(a)(2) WIC.
[7] California Welfare and Institutions Code 707(a)(3) WIC.
[8] Juvenile Justice in California, California Department of Justice, 2022.
