As a parent, nothing is more terrifying than finding out that your child is in trouble with the law. You maneuver a complicated legal system with its jargon and lengthy process that may permanently change your child's future. The California justice system suggests that minors are not the same as adults. The main aim of the juvenile court is not punishment but rehabilitation. It seeks to know the underlying reasons behind a child's behavior and offer the education, counseling, and guidance needed to get them back on the right track.
However, the boundary between the juvenile and adult systems may be blurred. In some serious offenses, California law permits a young offender to be taken out of the juvenile court's rehabilitative environment and exposed to the full force of the adult justice system. A particular code of rules, age restrictions, and court checks regulates it. Therefore, securing the rights and future of your child to understand how and when this can occur is a priority.
This blog guides you through the legislation for this life-changing choice and explains the crucial thresholds, the decisive transfer hearing that decides the fate, and the harsh repercussions at stake.
Age is the First Hurdle
The age of your child when the alleged offense was committed is the most critical initial consideration of where your case will be tried before any other factor is considered. California has laid down clear age-related regulations that govern who is and is not subject to adult prosecution. The juvenile court jurisdiction of the state is premised on the notion that the ability of a child to comprehend his/her actions and the possibility of change in the child change as the child grows.
This body of law is not fixed; it has been influenced by decades of discussion and legislative change. It is gradually shifting towards a model of intervention in which rehabilitation is preferred to punishment of the youth. This philosophy has become a part of the law and has formed certain age groups that all parents in this situation must be aware of.
Ages 16 and 17 Are the Potential Ages for Transfer
The most common age range during which a minor may be tried in adult court is at the age of 16 or 17 years old. When your child is in this age bracket and he is charged with a serious felony, the chances of being tried as an adult become a reality. However, it is essential to know this is not an automatic transfer. A prosecutor cannot transfer the case to adult court at his discretion.
The law demands a procedural process and the consent of a juvenile court judge, who must make a specific finding that your child does not fit in the juvenile system. This court supervision is a vital safeguard, and this is to make sure that the decision is not taken lightly and is arrived at after a careful consideration of your child and his/her particular situation.
Protections Under SB 1391 if Under Age 16
Children under the age of 16 are much better off. In 2018, California enacted Senate Bill 1391 to recognize the vast developmental disparities in younger teenagers. This landmark law bars children 14 or 15 years old at the time of an offense from being tried as adults. The enactment of SB 1391 was a strategic step to strengthen the rehabilitative aims of the juvenile justice system, which relied on scientific data that younger adolescents are more susceptible to adverse influences and more likely to change.
The California Supreme Court supported this law in 2021, and it guarantees that children of this age group will not be sent to adult jails but will stay in the juvenile court system, where treatment and education are prioritized.
The Fitness or Transfer Hearing is The Deciding Factor
The most critical of all proceedings in deciding whether your 16- or 17-year-old will be charged as an adult is the fitness hearing, otherwise called a transfer hearing. This is the legal field in which the decision is formally arrived at. This hearing is to help a juvenile court judge decide whether your child is a good fit to be treated in the juvenile system.
If the judge determines that the rehabilitative resources of the juvenile court are proper and adequate, the case will be left there. On the contrary, when the judge is convinced that your child does not belong in the juvenile system, the case will be referred to the adult criminal court.
This process is started by a prosecutor who files a transfer motion requesting the judge to transfer the case. This is a serious, fact-finding hearing in which your attorney can paint a full portrait of your child and argue that they should be allowed to stay in the protective and rehabilitative umbrella of the juvenile court.
Factors the Judge Must Consider
In a fitness hearing, the judge does not get to decide. The California law provides in the Welfare and Institutions Code section 707 that the court is to consider specific factors to determine its decision. The prosecutor will explain why your child does not fit in the juvenile system, and your attorney will provide counter-evidence on these five reasons.
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Level of criminal sophistication. The first is the determination of the level of criminal sophistication that your child has. This includes examining the alleged offence's planning, complexity, and mode to determine whether it is adult-like thinking.
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The possibility of rehabilitating your child. The judge determines the possibility of rehabilitating your child before the juvenile court's jurisdiction expires. This considers the possibility of change in your child and the effectiveness of the programs and services that the juvenile system can offer.
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Past delinquent record of your child. The court looks at the past delinquent record of your child and tries to establish patterns of behavior and the character of any past offenses.
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Success or failure of any prior rehabilitation attempts. The judge considers the success or failure of any prior attempts of the juvenile court to rehabilitate your child. If your child has already been in the system, the court will examine how he or she reacted to the previous interventions.
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Seriousness of the present alleged offense. The judge considers the conditions and seriousness of the present alleged crime, taking into account the degree of damage done and the particular involvement of your child in the event.
Which Crimes Can Lead to an Adult Trial? The WIC 707(b) Offenses?
Not all types of crime require a fitness hearing. It is limited to a particular set of the gravest felonies listed in the California Welfare and Institutions Code, section 707(b). A prosecutor may only seek to waive the case of a 16 or 17-year-old to adult court when the child is charged with one of these qualifying offenses. This list is a legal filter that makes sure that only the most serious cases can be considered within the adult system.
The crimes in section 707(b) are mostly violent and serious, indicating that the law is trying to create a boundary between juvenile errors and acts that present a significant danger to the safety of the people. By comprehending this list, one can understand why some cases are at risk of transfer and most are not.
Examples of Qualifying Felony Offenses
The list of 707(b) offenses is long and consists of various serious criminal offenses. Although not comprehensive, some of the most notable crimes that can qualify a 16- or 17-year-old to have a transfer hearing include:
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Murder or attempted murder (PCs 187 and 664), which are some of the most serious crimes that a person can be charged with
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Arson causing significant bodily injury, PC 451(a)
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Robbery, particularly with a weapon, PC 211
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Rape by force, violence, or threat, PC 261(a)(2)
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Forcible sodomy, PC 286(c)(2)(A))
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Forcible oral copulation, PC 287(c)
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Lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14, PC 288(a)
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Kidnapping, whether with or without specific intent/purpose, PC 207
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Carjacking, especially with a weapon, PC 215
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Torture, PC 206
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Mayhem, causing permanent disfigurement or disability, PCs 203 and 205
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Assault with a firearm or destructive device, PC 245(a)(2)
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Firing a gun into an occupied building, PC 245(a)(3)
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Assault by any means of force likely to produce significant bodily injury, PC 245(a)(4)
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Discharging a firearm into an occupied building or vehicle, PC 246
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Escape from a juvenile facility by use of force or violence, PC 871
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And many more
The existence of one of the above 707(b) offenses is the only prerequisite that a prosecutor must have before initiating a process of seeking a transfer to an adult court.
How California's Laws Have Evolved
The current laws governing juvenile justice in California are a product of a push and pull between a tough-on-crime approach and a more contemporary and evidence-based approach to rehabilitation that has existed over decades.
This history can be used to understand why the system works the way it does today, and judicial oversight is at its core. Previously, the authority to determine whether a minor was to be tried as an adult lay elsewhere, and the system was one many felt was inherently unjust to youth.
This development indicates a significant change in the widespread and legislative awareness of adolescent brain development and the most appropriate methods of both maintaining the safety of the general population and the long-term welfare of troubled youth.
Power Shift From Prop 21 to Prop 57
In 2000, California voters approved Proposition 21, which granted prosecutors the broad authority to direct-file charges against minors in adult court. This allowed a prosecutor to waive the juvenile system in some cases without a judge's consent. This resulted in a huge rise in the number of youths tried and sentenced as adults.
Nevertheless, this was radically changed in 2016 when Proposition 57 was passed. This was a plan, officially known as the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act, to reverse the most severe parts of Prop 21. Above all, Proposition 57 took away the direct file authority of the prosecutors and gave it back to the judges. It required that no minor could be tried as an adult without first being subjected to a fitness hearing in juvenile court, so the judge was the final decision-maker.
Raising the Minimum Age Under SB 1391
Continuing the trend of Proposition 57, the California Legislature made another significant move in 2018 with the passage of Senate Bill 1391. This legislation also advanced the state's interest in rehabilitation by increasing the age at which a minor could be transferred to adult court to 16 years old. This law was based on the idea that 14- and 15-year-olds are just too young and developmentally immature to be exposed to the adult criminal system.
Through this clear age demarcation, SB 1391 ensured that younger teens could enjoy the specialized services and focus on rehabilitation that the juvenile justice system could offer. The California Supreme Court subsequently held that SB 1391 was a constitutional extension of the objectives of Proposition 57.
Adult vs. Juvenile Conviction Consequences
The result of a fitness hearing is epochal, since the distinctions between the juvenile and adult justice systems are stark. The direction that your child is referred to will have dramatically different effects, not only on their short-term freedom but also on their whole life path. One system is punitive and containment-based, and the other is corrective and restorative.
Awareness of what is at stake makes it clear that you must fight to ensure your child's case remains in the juvenile court's jurisdiction. The punishments, the setting, and the lifetime consequences of a conviction are fundamentally different, and these differences must be at the top of every parent's mind.
Prison and a Permanent Record Under the Adult Court System
When a minor is transferred, tried, and convicted in the adult court, he or she is subject to the same penalties as any other adult. Depending on the offense, this involves long prison terms, which may be decades or even life. When they reach the age of 18, they are usually sent to adult state prisons, where they are exposed to a far more severe and dangerous environment.
Moreover, a conviction in adult court leads to a lifelong, public criminal record that may cause lifelong barriers. It may drastically restrict future employment, education, housing, and voting rights. The adult system is punitive and deterrence-based, not individualized rehabilitation that your child requires.
Rehabilitation and a Sealed Record Under the Juvenile Court System
By contrast, the juvenile system provides a future. The whole idea of a juvenile disposition is rehabilitation. Punishments, or dispositions, can be probation, required counseling, community service, or a juvenile facility, but not state prison. These institutions are aimed at offering education and treatment to young offenders to get them back on track. More than anything, the juvenile system provides the opportunity for a new beginning.
Juvenile records are confidential, and in most instances, they can be sealed after your child reaches 18 years and completes their probation. A sealed record enables your child to declare that the crime never happened legally and opens the way to a future free of the errors of their youth.
Exception When Apprehended After Adulthood
Although the law is obvious on the protection of minors, one notable exception should be noted. The safeguards of SB 1391 that do not allow 14- and 15-year-olds to be tried as adults have a specific restriction. Even when your child is accused of a serious 707(b)-listed offense at age 14 or 15 but was not discovered and arrested until after the child had turned 18, the law still permits a prosecutor to request a transfer to adult court.
In this special case, a fitness hearing may still occur to decide where the case will be tried. The exception is to cover the case in which an individual evades the juvenile justice system altogether by not being apprehended until they are already too old to be subject to it. It points to the complexity of the law and is another aspect where the advice of a knowledgeable attorney is invaluable.
Consult a Seasoned Juvenile Defense Lawyer Near Me
When your child is charged with a serious offense, particularly when they are 16 or 17, there is no overstating the value of hiring a skilled juvenile defense attorney. The fitness hearing is the point of no return that will decide your child's future. The transfer hearing is as thorough as a trial in adult court; therefore, you should not gamble with your child’s life. An experienced defense attorney is knowledgeable about the intricacies of the transfer process and how to build a strong case to keep your child in the juvenile system.
At Los Angeles Criminal Attorney, we have a track record for defending juvenile delinquents in transfer hearings. We work hard to keep your child in the rehabilitation-oriented juvenile system. If your child faces any criminal charge, however minor it may seem, do not take chances! Contact us at 424-333-0943 to schedule a consultation and case review with our seasoned defense lawyers.
