Juvenile Delinquency Cases

How a criminal charge against a minor is handled in juvenile court: the different vocabulary and goals, the rights the Constitution guarantees, transfer to adult court, and what happens to the record.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of Criminal Defense law firms.

What it means

When a minor is accused of conduct that would be a crime if an adult did it, the case usually goes to a separate juvenile court rather than criminal court. Each state sets the age range its juvenile court covers. The vocabulary differs because the goal differs: the case is a petition alleging a delinquent act rather than a criminal charge; the trial is an adjudication hearing; a finding against the child is an adjudication of delinquency rather than a conviction; and the sentence is a disposition, aimed at rehabilitation, which can range from dismissal or informal supervision through probation, counseling and restitution to placement in a residential facility. Many cases are diverted at intake without a petition at all. Juvenile courts also hear status offenses, such as truancy, curfew violations and running away, which are offenses only because of the person's age.

The Supreme Court has held that a child facing a delinquency adjudication has the core due-process protections of a criminal defendant: written notice of the charges, the right to a lawyer (appointed if the family cannot afford one), the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses, the privilege against self-incrimination, and proof beyond a reasonable doubt. There is no federal constitutional right to a jury in juvenile court, although some states provide one. A child's age is relevant to whether police questioning counts as custodial for Miranda purposes.

For serious offenses, most states allow or require transfer (also called waiver or certification) of a juvenile's case to adult criminal court, sometimes automatically by statute and otherwise after a hearing at which the judge weighs the offense, the child's history and the prospects for rehabilitation. The Constitution limits adult sentences for crimes committed as juveniles: no death penalty, no life without parole for crimes other than homicide, and no mandatory life without parole at all. Juvenile records are usually confidential, and most states allow them to be sealed or destroyed later, sometimes automatically, but a record is not erased unless the steps the state requires are taken.

Where this comes from

When people hire a lawyer for this

A child who is questioned by police, arrested or served with a petition should have a lawyer before saying anything; parents can ask for one and should not encourage the child to explain. Courts appoint a public defender or juvenile defender for families who cannot afford counsel, and the right attaches in juvenile court as it does in adult court. A private criminal defense lawyer who regularly practices in juvenile court is especially worth having when transfer to adult court is possible, when the charge could affect immigration status, school discipline or a professional future, or later to seal the record.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

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Related terms

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

• ArraignmentThe first court appearance in a criminal case, where the charges are read and a plea is entered.
• Bail and Pretrial ReleaseThe decision about whether someone stays in custody while their case is pending - which is about appearance and safety, not about guilt.
• Bench Warrant and Failure to AppearThe arrest warrant a judge issues from the bench when a defendant misses a court date or violates a court order - what it authorizes, the separate failure-to-appear charge and bond forfeiture that often follow, and how a person clears one by surrendering on their own terms rather than being picked up.
• Crime Victims' Rights and CompensationThe rights a crime victim has in the criminal case - notice, presence, being heard, restitution - and the state compensation programs that pay some of a victim's costs whether or not the offender is caught.
• Criminal RestitutionThe order, entered at sentencing, requiring a defendant to repay the victim's losses caused by the offense - what losses it covers, how it differs from a fine and from a civil judgment, the payment schedule and enforcement, and why it survives bankruptcy and the end of the sentence.
• Criminal Traffic Offenses (Reckless Driving, Suspended License, Hit and Run)The driving offenses that are crimes rather than tickets, which carry a criminal record, possible jail and license consequences, and so are defended like any other criminal charge.
• Domestic Violence ChargesCriminal charges for violence or threats against a family or household member or partner, which bring consequences beyond the sentence, including a federal firearms ban.
• Double JeopardyThe constitutional bar on being tried twice for the same offense after an acquittal or conviction, or punished twice for it - when jeopardy attaches, what counts as the "same offense", the mistrial and appeal exceptions, and why a state and the federal government may each prosecute the same act.
• Drug Crime Charges (Possession and Distribution)How drug charges are structured: possession versus intent to distribute, drug schedules and quantity, state versus federal prosecution, and the search questions that often decide the case.
• Expungement and Record SealingCourt processes that erase or restrict access to a criminal record, available only in defined circumstances that vary by state.
• Federal Criminal Charges (Federal vs State Prosecution)How a federal criminal case differs from a state one: the grand jury indictment, pretrial release, advisory sentencing guidelines, and the possibility of being charged by both.
• Felony and MisdemeanorThe basic division of criminal offenses by seriousness - which drives the procedure, the possible sentence, and the consequences that outlast it.
• Firearm Prohibitions and Rights RestorationWho federal law bars from possessing guns - including people with felony convictions and domestic violence records - how a conviction stops counting, and how state law adds to both.
• Grand Jury and IndictmentA closed proceeding in which citizens decide whether there is enough evidence to charge someone - not whether they are guilty.
• Miranda RightsThe warning police must give before questioning someone in custody - and the reason a missing warning suppresses a statement rather than ending a case.
• Motion to Suppress (Exclusionary Rule)The pretrial request to keep evidence out of a criminal trial because it was obtained in violation of the Constitution - an unlawful search, an involuntary or un-warned confession, a suggestive identification - the hearing it triggers, the "fruit of the poisonous tree" rule, and the exceptions that let evidence in anyway.
• Plea BargainAn agreement resolving a criminal case by guilty plea, usually in exchange for reduced charges or a sentencing concession.
• Preliminary HearingAn early court hearing at which a judge decides whether there is enough evidence for a case to proceed - the defense's first real look at it.
• Pretrial Diversion and Deferred AdjudicationThe programs that let an eligible defendant avoid a conviction by completing conditions - treatment, classes, community service, restitution - after which the charge is dismissed; the difference between diversion before a plea and deferred adjudication after one, and what each does to the record.
• Probable CauseThe level of justification the Fourth Amendment requires before police may arrest someone or search a place - more than a hunch, and less than proof.
• Probation and Parole ViolationWhat happens when someone under supervision is said to have broken its conditions - a proceeding with fewer protections than the trial that preceded it.
• Right to a Speedy TrialThe constitutional guarantee that a criminal case be brought to trial without unreasonable delay, and the statutes in the federal system and most states that put a clock on it - what starts the clock, what stops it, why a defendant's own motions extend it, and the remedy of dismissal when it runs out.
• Right to Counsel and the Public DefenderThe Sixth Amendment right to a lawyer in a criminal case, including one paid for by the state if the defendant cannot afford one.
• Search WarrantA judge's written authorization to search a specified place for specified things - and the exceptions that let police search without one are broad.
• Self-Defense and JustificationThe defense that a use of force was lawful because it was necessary to protect oneself or another from imminent unlawful force - the reasonableness and proportionality requirements, the duty-to-retreat and stand-your-ground split among the states, the castle doctrine, and who bears the burden once the defense is raised.
• Sentencing and EnhancementsHow a criminal sentence is decided after a plea or verdict - the statutory range, the guidelines or presumptive scheme the jurisdiction uses, the enhancements for prior convictions, weapons, victims and quantities that raise it, the presentence report, and the constitutional rule that any fact raising the maximum must be found by a jury.
• Sex Crime Charges and Sex Offender RegistrationCriminal charges for sexual offenses, which carry consequences beyond the sentence, chiefly sex offender registration under state law and the federal SORNA framework.
• White-Collar Fraud Charges (Mail, Wire and Securities Fraud)Federal fraud crimes built on a scheme to obtain money or property by deception, and the investigation rules that matter before any charge is filed.

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