If you’re under 18 and you commit a crime in California, legally you are almost always considered a juvenile. The juvenile criminal court system is different in many different ways. If you have any questions about your specific juvenile case, feel free to schedule a complimentary legal consultation with the best juvenile crime defense attorney in Southern California—Dan Chambers of the Chambers Law Firm.
In the meantime, read on to learn about how being charged as a juvenile differs from being changed as an adult.
Juvenile protections and constitutional considerations
Minors are protected from the harshest consequences of the law because they often do not have a thorough understanding of federal and state laws. But as minors, they also don’t have all the same constitutional rights adults have. Juvenile court procedures are designed to strike a balance between these two issues while also striving to make the best decisions to rehabilitate those who have been charged with a crime as a juvenile.
Guilt and innocence
Another important difference between adult criminal processes and juvenile ones is that in an adult case, the offender is either judged as innocent or guilty after a jury trial. A juvenile in California has what is called an “adjudication” and his or her case is heard by a judge, not a jury. A juvenile is not found guilty or not guilty. Instead, the petition against the juvenile is found “true” or “not true” or is “sustained” or “not sustained.” He or she must submit to a formal hearing, rather than a trial. The court may also consider the juvenile’s social, psychological, and societal factors during the hearing, not just the legal facts, as in an adult trial. This allows the court to recommend rehabilitation measures that are tailored to that individual’s particular situation.
While many adult courts order rehabilitation measures, juvenile courts pretty much always order rehabilitation components to integrate juvenile delinquent offenders back into regular society. For adult courts, the punishment received is often considered enough of a deterrent to persuade offenders to avoid committing more crimes, but juveniles are given more incentives to stop committing crimes.
Getting detained
Many states, including California, have youth detention facilities established to detain minors following their arrests and/or trial. These facilities are designed to protect juveniles from the societal factors that may have contributed to their delinquency, and help juveniles rehabilitate successfully. If you’ve been arrested as a juvenile, the arresting officer may choose to take you directly to a juvenile detention facility for your own well-being until a judge decides whether you should remain detained pending your trial.
Juvenile court proceedings
Additionally, juvenile offenders are protected from unnecessary stigmatization, so their hearings are kept private. The public usually doesn’t have access to juvenile court records to protect offenders’ privacy and encourage rehabilitation. On the other hand, adult criminal court files and records of the court proceedings are almost always open to the public.
More differences
There are many ways that being charged with a crime as a juvenile differs from being charged as an adult. Schedule a free consultation with Attorney Dan Chambers of the Chambers Law Firm to learn more about what to do if you’ve been charged with a crime as a minor. He’ll give you specific legal advice you can use right away, and start working hard on your behalf towards the ideal outcome in your case.
