Juvenile crimes are handled differently than adult crimes are – and for good reason. The courts recognize that children often aren’t mature enough, wise enough, or experienced enough to have the correct thought processes. They’re growing, their brains are still developing, and they may not fully understand the consequences of what they’ve done.

This is why the California court system has created a juvenile court system that’s supposed to account for these differences between adults and children. It’s supposed to acknowledge that while adults need to be punished for their actions, children should be helped. The goal is for rehabilitation – not punishment. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the way it works.

The types of punishments reserved for children

In the event a child is arrested, their punishment is typically less severe than the punishment an adult would receive for the same crime. For example, a child may expect to have to pay a fine, be on probation, go to counseling, complete community service, stay on house arrest, or be monitored electronically. For more serious juvenile criminal charges, they may get a sentence in a juvenile detention facility. Once again, this sentence would be much shorter than it would be if they were an adult, in most cases.

Trying minors as adults

The other side of the issue is that in some cases, a child under the age of 18 can be charged as an adult. It depends on several factors including their age at the time the crime was committed, how serious the crime was, and if they have a criminal background.

As you would expect, a charge of juvenile murder would be more likely to go through the adult criminal system compared to a charge of vandalism. Likewise, a minor who’s never committed a crime would be less likely to go through adult court than a minor who had been arrested many times and was nearly an adult.

The specific age may shock you

None of the above is likely a surprise but do you know just how young a child can be and be tried as an adult? In California, the answer is that a child as young as 14 can end up in adult court. If a child is convicted as an adult, they can face the same sentence an adult would face. While it may seem to make sense that in some cases, a child must be held accountable, the reality is that most children simply don’t have the decision making capacity to be tried as adults.

Has your child committed a crime? Call us today

If your child is being charged with or accused of a crime then you need to reach out to a criminal defense attorney. Attorney Fell has experience with both juvenile and adult criminal cases. As a result, he can work diligently to assure that your child has every chance of being tired as a child. To learn more about your options, reach out to us at (949) 585-9055.