When can minors (juveniles) face trial in adult court in Colorado?

A minor (juvenile) as young as 12 years of age can face trial in an adult court in Colorado if the charges are

• a class 1 felony
• a class 2 felony or
• a crime of violence.

Whether a minor’s case is transferred to adult court depends on multiple factors, including:

• the juvenile’s age,
• the severity of the offense,
• the juvenile’s history of delinquency, and
• the district attorney’s determination to transfer the case from juvenile court to district court.

Generally speaking, the likelihood of a minor being tried as an adult increases as:

• the person’s age increases,
• when the offense is more serious, and
• the child has a past history of delinquency.

Juvenile Charges

Under Colorado juvenile crimes law, individuals who are under the age of 18 who are charged with a crime are tried as juveniles in juvenile court. Juveniles are treated differently from adults, especially in terms of punishment. In place of strict punishment for juveniles, courts may impose punishment designed to:

• implement measures to fulfill the goals of a child,
• help children avoid future interaction with law enforcement, or
• improve the child’s environment.

Transfer v. Direct File

Depending on the offense, a criminal case against a minor can be filed:

• directly in an adult court, or
• be filed in juvenile court but later transferred to adult court.

Before a Colorado prosecutor may directly file a case in adult court against a minor, certain strict requirements must be met. The burden to transfer a case is not quite as difficult, but it still requires very particular findings.

In this article, our Denver criminal defense lawyers will address the following issues regarding trying juveniles as adults in Colorado.

• 1. “Minor” Meaning
• 2. When Juveniles Are Tried as Adults
• 3. Minimum Age
• 4. Direct Files in Criminal Court
• 5. Transfers to Criminal Court

A minor (juvenile) can face trial in an adult court in Colorado when certain factors are present.

1. “Minor” Meaning

A minor, or juvenile, is a person under the age of 18. In some cases, a minor may be treated as an adult for purposes of criminal charges and sentencing.

Why the Age of the Accused Matters

In most criminal cases involving defendants under 18, the individual will be tried in juvenile court. Juvenile courts are different in terms of:

• the purposes of sentencing,
• the criminal procedure and process, and
• the potential penalties—often less severe—for convicted crimes.

Juvenile courts also seek to:

• implement measures to fulfill the goals of a child,
• help children avoid future interaction with law enforcement, and
• attempt to improve the child’s environment.

2. When Juveniles Are Tried as Adults

In certain cases, a person under the age of 18 may be tried as an adult for his or her crimes. When deciding whether to try a minor as an adult, four factors are considered:

1. the juvenile’s age,
2. the severity of the offense,
3. the juvenile’s history of delinquency, and
4. the district attorney’s determination to transfer the case from juvenile court to district court.²

The likelihood of a minor being tried as an adult increases as:

• the person’s age increases,
• when the offense is more severe, and
• the child has a past history of delinquency.

See our related article on Denver Juvenile Court – A Guide for Parents.

Under Colorado law, a minor as young as the age of 12 can be tried as an adult.

3. Minimum Age

Under Colorado law, a minor as young as the age of 12 can be tried as an adult if he or she faces class 1 felony or class 2 felony charges.

The younger a child is, the less likely it is that the child will be tried as an adult. However, this depends on the circumstances and the above-listed factors that the court considers.

4. Direct Files in Criminal Court

Juveniles are charged as adults in one of two ways:

• directly in an adult court, or
• the case is filed in juvenile court but later transferred to adult court.

“Direct Files”

A direct file initiates the case in the adult court, even if the defendant is under 18.

A district attorney may file charges directly in adult court if the juvenile was 16 years or older at the time of the offense and:

• is alleged to have committed a class 1 or 2 felony; or
• is alleged to have committed a sexual assault that is a crime of violence or a sexual assault under the circumstances described in C.R.S. section 18-3-402 (5) (a); or
• is alleged to have committed a felony enumerated as a crime of violence, or sexual assault, sexual assault on a child, or sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust; and
• has a prior adjudicated felony offense; or
• has previously been subject to proceedings in the district court as a result of a direct filing or transfer.³

“Reverse-Transfers”

If a case is directly filed in adult court, your attorney can file a motion for a reverse-transfer hearing. The case will be transferred to juvenile court if the court decides that the case is:

• better served in the juvenile court, or
• the requirements for a direct file are not met.

Additional Charges

If there are additional charges arising out of the same criminal act or series of criminal acts, then those additional charges — even if they do not rise to the seriousness of the offense that caused the direct file — must be prosecuted in the same action.⁴

In the Denver district court, however, if the minor’s offense that permits direct file is dismissed, the court loses subject-matter jurisdiction over any additional charges that were not eligible for direct file. As such, the Denver juvenile court retains exclusive jurisdiction over the charges.⁵

5. Transfers to Criminal Court

A transfer occurs when a case is originally filed in juvenile court, but the district attorney seeks to transfer it to adult court. A case may be transferred to adult court under two circumstances:

1. the child is 12 or 13 years of age at the time the commission of the offense and the offense — if committed by an adult — constitutes
   • class 1 felony,
   • class 2 felony, or
   • a crime of violence; or
2. the child is 14 years of age or older at the time the commission of the offense and — if committed by an adult — the offense constitutes a felony.⁶

Before a case is transferred, the juvenile court must determine whether it is in the best interests of the child or the public to transfer the case to adult court. If the court decides that it is not in the best interests to transfer the case, it will not do so. Note also that Colorado has a process to seal and expunge juvenile criminal records.

Call us for help…

Contact us for help with your case.

For questions about when minors can be tried as adults or to confidentially discuss your case with one of our Colorado juvenile crimes defense attorneys, do not hesitate to contact us at Colorado Legal Defense Group. (For cases in California or Nevada, please see our article on transfer hearings to charge juveniles in adult court in California and prosecuting juveniles in adult court in Nevada.)

We represent clients in and around Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins, Lakewood, and several nearby cities.

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