Let's review the criminal offenses for which minors in California may be charged as adults. It's important to note that California's juvenile justice system aims to rehabilitate young offenders rather than punish them as adults.
However, there are circumstances under which minors can be tried as adults, a practice that has undergone significant legislative changes over the years.
In 2000, for example, California voters approved Proposition 21, which empowered prosecutors to charge juveniles aged 14 to 18 as adults for certain violent offenses.
Prop 21 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.
In 2016, Proposition 57 was passed, which repealed Prop 21 and gave juvenile court judges the discretion of whether minors 14 or over can be tried as adults.
However, in 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1391, which raised the minimum age for minors to be tried as adults from 14 to 16.
It restricted prosecutors from trying a minor as an adult if they were under 16 at the time of the offense unless they weren't apprehended until they were 18. It also 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.
In 2021, the California Supreme Court ruled that Senate Bill 1391 should be amended but did not violate Prop 57 and upheld the law.
This legislative shift reflects an evolving understanding of juvenile culpability and aims to provide more opportunities for rehabilitation.
What About Minors Aged 16 and Above?
Despite the changes in legislation, certain offenses still allow minors aged 16 and above to be tried as adults in California.
The decision to transfer a juvenile case to adult court involves a thorough judicial review, particularly focusing on the severity and nature of the crime, the minor's criminal history, and the potential for rehabilitation within the juvenile system.
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 is 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, as noted, punishment focuses on rehabilitation.
As noted above, the age at which a minor child can be tried as an adult for a crime in California has changed several times in the past several years. As a general rule, juvenile court jurisdiction describes minors who are people under the age of 18.
What Types of Crimes Can Lead to Minors Being Tried as Adults?
California Welfare & Institutions Code 707 (b) codifies the list of criminal offenses for which minors aged 16 and up can be charged as adults.
Generally speaking, the list includes offenses categorized as serious or violent felonies. Among the major offenses on the list are some of the following:
Murder and Attempted Murder
Murder and attempted murder are perhaps the most severe crimes for which a minor can be charged as an adult in California.
If a juvenile aged 16 or older commits murder, especially under aggravating circumstances such as during a robbery, rape, or lying in wait, the likelihood of being tried as an adult significantly increases.
In cases where premeditation or other heinous factors like torture are involved, the juvenile court often finds that the seriousness of the crime warrants an adult trial. Similarly, attempted murder can also qualify for trial as an adult.
Rape
A juvenile can face adult charges for rape, especially if the act involves aggravating factors such as the use of a weapon, bodily harm to the victim, or gang-related activity.
Similar violent sex crimes, such as sodomy or forcible oral copulation, can also qualify for adult-level charges. It also includes lewd acts on a child or dependent and forcible acts of sexual penetration with a foreign object.
Robbery and Armed Robbery
Violent robberies, particularly when accompanied by the use of a firearm or other dangerous weapons, can lead to a minor being tried as an adult. The severity of armed robbery - a violent felony - often justifies a transfer to adult court. This is especially true if the robbery results in significant harm or injury to the victim or if the minor has a history of similar offenses.
Kidnapping
Kidnapping, especially when it involves ransom demands, bodily harm, or sexual assault, is a crime that can lead to adult charges for minors. The gravity of the act, as well as its potential long-lasting impact on the victim, makes it one of the offenses where a judge may deem juvenile court insufficient for justice to be served.
Assault and Battery with Serious Injury
While assault and battery are typically handled within the juvenile system, severe cases involving the infliction of grave bodily harm can result in adult charges. This is particularly true if the assault involves the use of a weapon or occurs in the context of other serious crimes, such as during the commission of a robbery or gang activity.
Carjacking
Carjacking is considered a violent felony, especially when a firearm or other weapon is involved. Given its potential to result in serious injury or death, a minor aged 16 or older who commits carjacking may face adult prosecution, particularly if the crime was premeditated or carried out with extreme recklessness.
What are Other Types of Crimes That Qualify?
In California, some other types of crimes where 16- and 17-year-olds can be tried as adults for serious criminal charges include the following:
- Arson,
- Discharge of a firearm into an inhabited building,
- Using a firearm or deadly weapon for a felony,
- Violent crimes against elderly seniors,
- Intimidating or bribing a witness,
- Manufacturing or selling certain controlled substances,
- Violent felony offenses while with a gang,
- Torture and aggravated mayhem,
- Drive-by shooting,
- Voluntary manslaughter.
Suppose the minor child was 14 or 15 at the time of one of these alleged crimes but was not apprehended until they were 18. In that case, they could be tried as an adult if the juvenile judge agrees to transfer the minor to the adult court during the fitness hearing.
What is a Fitness Hearing?
A fitness hearing, also known as a "transfer hearing," is where the juvenile court judge determines whether a minor child is fit for the juvenile justice system.
The district attorney (prosecutor) will initiate a transfer hearing by filing a motion in juvenile court. To decide whether to transfer a minor child to adult court, the juvenile court judge will typically consider the following factors:
- The child's prior history of juvenile delinquency.
- The circumstances and seriousness of the alleged crime.
- The level of criminal sophistication used to commit the crime.
- If rehabilitation is likely to occur before the child turns 18.
- If prior rehabilitation was successful.
Notably, the consequences of being tried as an adult are severe due to the differences between adult and juvenile courts.
What are the Consequences of Being Tried as an Adult?
If a juvenile is tried as an adult and convicted, they face the same penalties as an adult offender, including longer prison sentences. Depending on the crime, this could mean decades or even life in prison.
Additionally, juveniles tried as adults are typically housed in adult facilities once they reach the age of 18, which exposes them to potentially harsher environments.
On the other hand, the juvenile system offers more opportunities for rehabilitation, including education, counseling, and other services aimed at helping young offenders reintegrate into society.
It may also result in the juvenile entering adulthood without a criminal record. For this reason, a skilled California criminal defense attorney will typically intervene in the early stages of these cases to advocate for trial as a juvenile rather than as an adult.
For additional information, contact our California criminal defense law firm, Eisner Gorin LLP, based in Los Angeles.
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