When Juveniles Are Tried in Adult Criminal Court

Juveniles younger than 18 can end up facing charges in adult criminal court. Every state has procedures and laws permitting juvenile cases to be heard in adult criminal court. A juvenile tried and convicted in adult court faces adult penalties, including prison time.

When Can Juveniles Be Tried as Adults? The Process

Juveniles accused of committing felonies can end up in adult court through various procedural routes. Some juvenile cases get transferred or waived from juvenile delinquency court to adult criminal court through a petition process. For very serious criminal accusations, a juvenile case may automatically start in adult court.

Discretionary Transfer or Waiver From Juvenile to Adult Court

In most states, a juvenile offender must be at least 14 to be transferred to adult court. Several states, though, allow minors as young as 10 to be subjected to a waiver petition. And a few states allow children of any age to be tried as adults for certain types of crimes, such as homicide.

The prosecutor usually initiates the transfer by filing a petition with the court, and the defense can argue against it. Some states have presumptive transfer laws for more serious offenses. These laws relieve the prosecutor of any obligation to file a petition or present proof as to why the juvenile should be transferred.

If the prosecutor seeks to transfer the case to adult court, the minor is entitled to a hearing and representation by an attorney. This hearing is often called a waiver hearing, fitness hearing, or certification hearing.

Automatic or Mandatory Transfer to Adult Court

Juvenile cases that start in adult court often involve older teens (age 15 to 17) accused of committing murder, sexual assault, or other violent crimes. A case might also start in adult court if a juvenile was previously tried in adult court—basically, once an adult, always an adult. Finally, a small number of states set the age of adulthood for criminal jurisdiction at 17 (rather than 18).

Many states permit juveniles to file "reverse transfer petitions" asking that their case be transferred back to juvenile court. Reverse transfers generally apply when a juvenile didn't have an opportunity to object to adult court jurisdiction.

What Crimes Can Result in a Juvenile Being Tried as an Adult?

As noted above, juvenile transfer laws usually apply to felony-level offenses. In many states, any felony may qualify (person, property, drug, or other felony). But it's often violent or serious felonies against another person that result in the prosecution filing a transfer petition or that trigger a presumptive transfer.

For discretionary transfers, the judge must decide whether to grant the transfer and waive (give up) jurisdiction to the adult court. State laws generally direct the court to consider the following factors when deciding whether to grant a transfer petition:

• the seriousness of the charges
• the public safety interests at stake
• the juvenile's alleged involvement in the crime
• whether a weapon was involved
• the juvenile's age and prior record of delinquency
• whether past rehabilitation efforts have been successful, and
• the ability of the juvenile system to rehabilitate the minor.

Automatic or mandatory transfer to adult court tends to be reserved for allegations of first-degree murder, rape, or a felony crime of violence.

Pros and Cons of Transfer to Adult Court

Although being tried in adult court gives a juvenile more constitutional protections, it has distinct disadvantages too—including the potential for a more severe sentence and the possibility of serving time in an adult correctional facility.

A few advantages of adult court may include:

• Minors have the right to a jury trial in adult court (most states don't provide a right to a jury in juvenile court)
• Juries in adult court may be more sympathetic to a minor.
• More constitutional protections exist in adult court.
• In some jurisdictions where dockets and jails are crowded, the court may be inclined to dispose of the juvenile's case more quickly and impose a lighter sentence.

The bigger disadvantages of adult court include:

• The juvenile is subject to more severe sentences in adult court, including life sentences.
• Judges in adult court do not have the wide range of punishment and treatment options that are available to juvenile court judges.
• The juvenile might have to serve time in an adult jail or prison, rather than in a juvenile detention center.
• A conviction in adult criminal court carries more social stigma than a juvenile court judgment does.
• Adult criminal records are harder to seal than juvenile court records—sealing or "expunging" records makes them unavailable to the public.

Usually, juveniles and their attorneys fight to keep a case in juvenile court.

Can Juveniles Tried as Adults Go to Prison?

Yes. Juveniles tried as adults and convicted receive adult punishments, which can include prison time. A state might hold convicted juveniles in a juvenile facility until they age out, but that's not always the case. The juvenile might go directly to an adult jail or prison. Federal law requires that juveniles be housed separately from adults (referred to as "sight and sound" separation). But, as soon as the juvenile turns 18, they can be transferred to the general adult population.

The Debate on Whether Juveniles Should Be Tried as Adults

The policy debate on whether the justice system should try juveniles as adults has gone back and forth over the years.

1900s to now. States created juvenile courts in the early 1900s because society viewed children as less blameworthy than adults. But tough-on-crime legislation and policies in the 1980s and 1990s drove juvenile transfer rates to their highest peaks. Since then, the number of juveniles waived to adult court has dramatically decreased (although there's been a recent uptick since 2021).

Arguments against treating kids as adults. Critics of sending juveniles to adult court argue that keeping teens in the juvenile system provides them with better support systems, treatment options, and appropriate resources. They note that placing teens in adult lockups exposes them to more violence and abuse. These critics also point to recent studies on brain development that show the human brain doesn't fully develop until age 24 to 26. Teen brains haven't fully matured, and they should not be held accountable for their actions like older adults.

Arguments for treating kids as adults. Proponents of keeping juvenile transfer laws emphasize that public safety demands that violent offenders be taken off the streets for as long as possible, no matter their age. In some cases, juvenile jurisdiction might only last until a person is 21 to 25.

Examples of Juveniles Tried as Adults and Sent to Prison

Some teens are middle-school age when they're arrested and held accountable for crimes as adults. Here are just a few examples.

Joe Sullivan was 13 years old (1989) when he was tried and convicted as an adult in Florida for sexual assault. He admitted to burglarizing the victim's home but denied raping her. His trial lasted one day. The judge sentenced him to life without parole.

Ian Manuel was 13 years old (1991) and had just finished 7th grade when he got involved in a botched robbery attempt that resulted in a victim suffering a nonfatal gunshot wound. After pleading guilty, he received a sentence of life without parole. Prison officials locked him up in solitary confinement for 18 years.

Phillip Shaw was 14 years old (1994) when he was involved in a robbery-shooting. He was sentenced as an adult to life without parole. His adult co-defendant had a better lawyer, who secured a new trial and a reduced sentence. Shaw's lawyer wasn't as good. Shaw spent 14 years in prison (half his life) before winning his release in 2008.

Note: The U.S. Supreme Court has since ruled that life-without-parole sentences for juveniles convicted of non-homicide crimes are unconstitutional. (Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010).)