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Juvenile justice

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Key facts: Juvenile justice is primarily a matter of state law, with most states setting 18 as the age of adult criminal responsibility, while federal law defines a "juvenile" for delinquency purposes as a person who has not reached age eighteen.[1][2]

Juvenile justice is the area of law that applies to young people accused of acts that would be crimes if committed by an adult.[1]It is mainly governed by state law, with every state operating its own juvenile court system, though a separate federal law addresses juvenile delinquency in federal cases.[1][2]

Overview

Juvenile justice covers criminal law as applied to people not old enough to be held fully responsible for criminal acts.[1]In most states the age of adult criminal culpability is 18, though that age can be lowered for extreme violence or other serious conduct.[1]Because juvenile law is mainly governed by state statutes, the specifics of crimes and offenses handled by juvenile courts, and how they are processed, vary from state to state.[1]

States justify juvenile courts and delinquency statutes under the doctrine of parens patriae, which authorizes a state to legislate for the protection, care, custody, and maintenance of children within its jurisdiction.[1]A juvenile court can waive or relinquish its jurisdiction, allowing a young person to be transferred into adult court.[1]

How juvenile court differs

Every state operates a juvenile court system to handle cases involving crimes committed by children or cases concerning children's health or welfare.[4]These courts and their jurisdiction are created by state statute, and proceedings usually occur in separate courtrooms, before judges who hear only juvenile matters.[4]The public is typically barred from these hearings to protect the privacy of the children involved.[4]

Unlike the adult criminal trial, jury trials are rarely used in juvenile cases, in part because they are costly and because they place the child and the government in adversarial positions better suited to adult defendants.[4]Juvenile proceedings are instead built around the belief that young offenders should be rehabilitated and are less culpable and more capable of rehabilitation than adults, so procedures are less formal and penalties tend to be less harsh and more community-based than adult sentencing.[4]Judges have broad discretion in choosing penalties and often speak directly with the child to understand their mindset.[4]A judge may recommend, at their discretion, that a juvenile be tried as an adult for a particularly violent or serious offense, and some states specify by statute that certain offenses automatically result in adult prosecution.[4]

Rights of juveniles

In re Gault, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967, arose after a 15-year-old was committed to a state industrial school by an Arizona juvenile court following proceedings in which no formal notice of the charges was served on his parents, no transcript was made, and the complaining witness was never present.[5]The Arizona Supreme Court had held that due process concepts were impliedly satisfied by the state's juvenile code, but the U.S. Supreme Court disagreed and reversed, establishing that juvenile defendants are entitled to Due Process protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.[4][5]

Because juvenile proceedings can lead to confinement, questions of notice, counsel, and confrontation of witnesses matter in delinquency cases much as they do for adults facing charges, including protections discussed under the Sixth Amendment and Fifth Amendment.[5]A child or family involved in a delinquency case can ask the court about the right to a lawyer, including through a public defender, in the same way an adult defendant could.[5]

Federal juvenile delinquency

At the federal level, a "juvenile" is defined by statute as a person who has not reached his eighteenth birthday, or, for purposes of proceedings and disposition for an alleged act of juvenile delinquency, a person who has not reached his twenty-first birthday.[2]"Juvenile delinquency" under federal law is the violation of a U.S. law committed by a person before turning 18 that would have been a crime if committed by an adult, or certain violations of a specific federal firearms provision.[2]

Because juvenile justice is generally treated as within state police power, the federal government's role is limited.[1]The main federal statute in this area is the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP), which helps states and local communities provide community-based services to juveniles at risk of delinquency, trains people who provide those services, and offers technical assistance.[1]The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention provides national leadership, coordination, and resources to prevent and respond to youth delinquency and victimization, and helps states, localities, and tribes develop juvenile justice systems.[3]

Sentencing limits for juveniles

The Eighth Amendment, discussed generally on the page about bail, fines and punishment, limits the punishments that can be imposed on juvenile offenders. In Roper v. Simmons, the Supreme Court held that the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments forbid imposing the death penalty on offenders who were under 18 at the time of their crimes.[6]

The Court reasoned that capital punishment must be reserved for the most serious crimes and the most culpable offenders, and it found objective indicators of a national consensus against executing juvenile offenders, including the fact that a majority of states prohibited the juvenile death penalty and that executions of offenders under 18 were infrequent even in states where it remained legally possible.[6]This decision reconsidered and overruled the Court's earlier position in Stanford v. Kentucky, which had rejected a categorical bar on executing offenders who were 16 or 17 at the time of their crimes.[6]

Entries in this section

Further entries planned for this section (not yet published):

Common questions

How is juvenile court different from adult court?

Juvenile courts are created by state statute and generally hold separate, closed proceedings before judges who hear only juvenile matters, unlike the public criminal trials used for adults.[4]Juvenile proceedings favor rehabilitation over retribution, so they are less formal, rarely use juries, and tend to produce less harsh, more community-based outcomes than adult sentencing.[4]

What rights do juveniles have in delinquency cases?

Following In re Gault, juveniles facing delinquency proceedings that could lead to confinement are entitled to Due Process protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.[4][5]The case arose from proceedings in which a juvenile's parents received no formal notice of charges, no transcript was made of hearings, and the complaining witness never appeared, problems the Supreme Court found inconsistent with due process.[5]

What age counts as a juvenile under federal law?

Under 18 U.S.C. § 5031, a juvenile is a person who has not reached his eighteenth birthday; for proceedings and disposition on an alleged act of juvenile delinquency, the statute extends coverage to a person who has not reached his twenty-first birthday.[2]

Can a juvenile be tried as an adult?

Yes. A juvenile court can waive or relinquish its jurisdiction so a young person is transferred to adult court, and a judge may recommend adult prosecution for particularly violent or serious offenses; some states also specify by statute that certain offenses automatically result in adult prosecution.[1][4]

Can a juvenile be sentenced to death?

No. In Roper v. Simmons, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments forbid imposing the death penalty on offenders who were under 18 at the time of their crimes.[6]

Is juvenile justice mainly a matter of state or federal law?

Juvenile justice is mainly governed by state law, and most states have enacted their own juvenile codes; the federal government's role is limited because this area is generally considered within state police power.[1]

References

All sources retrieved November 2026.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Juvenile justice (Wex)". Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Retrieved November 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "18 U.S.C. § 5031". U.S. Code via Legal Information Institute. Retrieved November 2026.
  3. ^ a b "Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention". Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved November 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Juvenile court (Wex)". Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Retrieved November 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967)". U.S. Supreme Court opinion via Legal Information Institute. Retrieved November 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005)". U.S. Supreme Court opinion via Legal Information Institute. Retrieved November 2026.