How Does Juvenile Court Work in California? A Guide for Parents After a Minor's Arrest
How Does Juvenile Court Work in California?
The short answer: when a person under 18 is accused of a crime in California, the case is handled in juvenile delinquency court under Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 rather than in adult criminal court. There is no jury, no bail, and no "conviction." Instead, the District Attorney files a petition, a judge decides at a jurisdiction hearing whether the allegations are true beyond a reasonable doubt, and if they are, the court chooses a disposition aimed at rehabilitation, which can range from informal probation at home to placement in a secure county facility. Only minors who were 16 or 17 at the time of a serious offense can be transferred to adult court, and only after a judge holds a transfer hearing. This guide from our criminal defense practice walks parents through each stage as it unfolds in Riverside, San Bernardino, the High Desert, Los Angeles, and Orange County.
Why the first 48 hours matter. The decisions made at the police station and in the probation intake interview often determine whether a petition is ever filed. A minor who gives a recorded statement, a parent who tries to "clear things up" with the detective, or a family that misses the detention hearing can turn a case that would have been handled informally into a formal wardship. Knowing the sequence lets you protect your child at each step.
What Happens When a Minor Is Arrested
Temporary custody and the phone calls. Under Welfare and Institutions Code section 625, an officer may take a minor into temporary custody when there is reasonable cause to believe the minor committed a crime. Welfare and Institutions Code section 627 requires the officer to take immediate steps to notify a parent or guardian and gives the minor the right to make at least two phone calls within one hour of arriving at the station, one to a parent or guardian and one to an attorney. If your child calls you from a station in Riverside, Fontana, Hesperia, or Anaheim, your first job is to tell them, clearly, not to answer questions until a lawyer is present.
The mandatory lawyer consultation before questioning. California gives minors a protection adults do not have. Welfare and Institutions Code section 625.6 requires that a person under 18 consult with an attorney before any custodial interrogation and before waiving Miranda rights, and the consultation cannot be waived. The United States Supreme Court held in J.D.B. v. North Carolina (2011) 564 U.S. 261 that a child's age is relevant to whether the child was in custody for Miranda purposes. Statements taken in violation of these rules can be suppressed, and our guide on whether police can lie during an interrogation explains why juveniles are especially vulnerable to the techniques detectives use.
Release, citation, or juvenile hall. Under Welfare and Institutions Code section 626, the officer can release the minor to a parent with a warning, release the minor with a citation to appear before the probation department, or deliver the minor to juvenile hall. Most first-time misdemeanor arrests end with release to a parent. Serious felonies, weapons, and cases where the parent cannot be reached are the usual reasons a minor is booked into a county juvenile facility. In Riverside County that means one of the county's juvenile halls, in San Bernardino County the detention and assessment centers in San Bernardino and the High Desert, and in Los Angeles and Orange Counties the county probation department's halls; confirm current facilities with the county probation department.
The probation intake interview. Once a minor is in custody or cited, a probation officer decides under Welfare and Institutions Code section 628 whether to release the minor, handle the matter informally, or refer it to the District Attorney for a petition. Probation will interview the minor and the parents about school, home life, and the incident. The interview is not confidential and the minor should not discuss the facts of the offense without counsel, but the family's cooperation on school attendance, supervision, and willingness to participate in programs matters a great deal to the recommendation.
The Petition and the Detention Hearing
The 602 petition. If the case is referred, the District Attorney files a petition under Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 alleging that the minor committed specified offenses and asking the court to declare the minor a ward. The petition is the juvenile equivalent of a complaint. Welfare and Institutions Code section 631 requires the petition to be filed within 48 hours, excluding non-judicial days, when the minor is held in custody; otherwise the minor must be released. The same offenses that adults face, from shoplifting and vandalism to drug possession, fighting at school, and underage DUI, are charged under the same Penal, Vehicle, and Health and Safety Code sections.
The detention hearing. If the minor is in custody, Welfare and Institutions Code section 632 requires a detention hearing by the end of the next judicial day after the petition is filed. This is the juvenile version of arraignment combined with a release hearing, and it is the single most important early hearing. The minor is advised of the allegations and appointed counsel, and the judge decides under Welfare and Institutions Code section 635 whether continued detention is necessary for the protection of the minor or the community or because the minor is likely to flee. There is no money bail in juvenile court; release depends on the judge's assessment of the home, the parents, and the offense, which is why a parent's presence and a concrete supervision plan matter so much.
What parents should bring. Come to the detention hearing with school records showing attendance, proof of the child's activities and employment, letters from coaches or counselors, and a plan for who will supervise the minor and how the minor will get to school and court. Judges in Riverside and San Bernardino release minors to parents who demonstrate control of the situation and detain minors whose parents seem overwhelmed or absent. If release is denied, the defense can ask for a rehearing and for the court to consider home supervision or electronic monitoring as an alternative to the hall.
Informal Alternatives That Avoid a Wardship
Informal supervision before a petition. Welfare and Institutions Code section 654 allows the probation officer to place a minor on a program of informal supervision for up to six months instead of referring the case to the District Attorney. The minor and parents agree to conditions such as counseling, community service, restitution, and school attendance, and if the minor completes the program no petition is filed. Probation departments use this heavily for first-time misdemeanors, and a defense lawyer who contacts probation early can often secure it before the file ever reaches a prosecutor.
Informal supervision after a petition. If a petition has already been filed, Welfare and Institutions Code section 654.2 lets the court, with the minor's consent, continue the case for six months of informal supervision without a finding on the allegations. Successful completion results in dismissal. The court may extend the period, and a failure sends the case back to the regular track.
Deferred entry of judgment for first-time felonies. For a minor charged with a first felony that is not listed in Welfare and Institutions Code section 707, subdivision (b), Welfare and Institutions Code section 790 provides deferred entry of judgment. The minor admits the allegations, judgment is deferred, and the minor completes a probation program of twelve to thirty-six months. On successful completion the petition is dismissed and the arrest is deemed never to have occurred. The admission is the price of the program, so it should be used only when the evidence is strong and the minor is eligible.
Non-wardship probation. Even after a true finding, Welfare and Institutions Code section 725, subdivision (a), allows the court to place the minor on probation for up to six months without declaring the minor a ward. If the minor completes probation, the petition is dismissed. This is a common resolution for minors with no prior record whose case did not qualify for informal handling.
The Jurisdiction Hearing: Juvenile Court's Version of Trial
No jury, but the same burden of proof. The jurisdiction hearing is a trial before a judge. Welfare and Institutions Code section 701 requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the standard the United States Supreme Court imposed on juvenile courts in In re Winship (1970) 397 U.S. 358. The minor has the rights recognized in In re Gault (1967) 387 U.S. 1: notice of the charges, counsel, confrontation and cross-examination of witnesses, and the privilege against self-incrimination. There is no right to a jury under McKeiver v. Pennsylvania (1971) 403 U.S. 528, so the judge decides both the law and the facts.
Timing. Welfare and Institutions Code section 657 requires the jurisdiction hearing within 15 judicial days of the detention order if the minor is in custody and within 30 days of the petition if the minor is at home, unless time is waived. Juvenile cases therefore move much faster than adult cases, which cuts both ways: less time in limbo, but less time to investigate unless the defense asks for a continuance.
Discovery, motions, and evidence. The prosecution's disclosure obligations under Penal Code section 1054.1 and Brady v. Maryland (1963) 373 U.S. 83 apply in juvenile court, and so do suppression motions, which are brought under Welfare and Institutions Code section 700.1 rather than Penal Code section 1538.5. School searches, searches of a minor's phone, and statements taken without the section 625.6 consultation are frequent suppression issues. Our guides to criminal discovery and text message evidence apply with full force.
Admissions. Most petitions resolve by admission, the juvenile equivalent of a plea, often to a reduced allegation or with an agreed disposition. Because a juvenile admission can carry consequences into adulthood, including use as a strike in limited circumstances, the decision deserves the same scrutiny as an adult plea. Our guide on whether to take a plea deal applies to juvenile admissions as well.
Disposition: What the Judge Can Order
The dispositional hearing. If the court sustains the petition, it holds a disposition hearing under Welfare and Institutions Code section 702, usually after receiving a probation report. For a wobbler, section 702 requires the court to declare whether the offense is a felony or a misdemeanor, a finding that matters later for sealing and for adult sentencing. The court's goal under Welfare and Institutions Code section 202 is rehabilitation and public safety rather than punishment, and the probation officer's recommendation carries heavy weight.
Range of outcomes. Under Welfare and Institutions Code section 730 and related sections, the court can declare the minor a ward and place the minor at home on probation with conditions, in a relative's home, in a group home or foster placement, in a county camp or ranch program, or, for the most serious offenses, in a secure youth treatment facility operated by the county under Welfare and Institutions Code section 875. The state Division of Juvenile Justice closed in 2023, so even the most serious juvenile cases are now handled locally. Probation conditions typically include school attendance, curfew, drug testing, counseling, community service, and restitution.
Restitution and parental liability. Victim restitution is ordered in juvenile cases under Welfare and Institutions Code section 730.6, and parents can be held jointly liable for a portion of it under Welfare and Institutions Code section 730.7 up to a statutory cap. Disputing the amount at a restitution hearing is worthwhile when the claimed losses are inflated; our guide to restitution in criminal cases explains the process.
Transfer to Adult Court
Who can be transferred. Since Proposition 57 in 2016, prosecutors can no longer file juvenile cases directly in adult court. Under Welfare and Institutions Code section 707, the District Attorney must file a motion, and only minors who were 16 or 17 at the time of the offense are eligible, a limit the California Supreme Court upheld in O.G. v. Superior Court (2021) 11 Cal.5th 82. The court held in People v. Superior Court (Lara) (2018) 4 Cal.5th 299 that Proposition 57 applies retroactively to cases that were not yet final.
The transfer hearing. At the hearing the judge considers the minor's degree of criminal sophistication, whether the minor can be rehabilitated before juvenile jurisdiction expires, prior delinquent history, the success of prior rehabilitation attempts, and the circumstances and gravity of the offense. Under current law the prosecution bears the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation in the juvenile system. Transfer hearings are the highest-stakes proceeding in juvenile court because a transferred 17-year-old faces adult sentencing, adult custody, and an adult record, and they require psychological evaluations, school and treatment records, and expert testimony.
Records, Sealing, and Long-Term Consequences
A juvenile adjudication is not a conviction. Welfare and Institutions Code section 203 provides that a juvenile court order is not a criminal conviction, and juvenile hearings are generally closed to the public under Welfare and Institutions Code section 676 except for specified serious offenses. Juvenile records are confidential under Welfare and Institutions Code section 827. Most job applications that ask about convictions do not require disclosure of a juvenile adjudication, but applications for law enforcement, the military, and certain licenses may ask differently.
Automatic sealing. Welfare and Institutions Code section 786 requires the court to dismiss the petition and seal the record when a minor satisfactorily completes probation or informal supervision, with exceptions for serious offenses listed in section 707, subdivision (b), committed at age 14 or older. For records not sealed automatically, Welfare and Institutions Code section 781 allows a petition to seal once the person is 18 or juvenile jurisdiction has ended. Our guide to sealing an arrest record covers the adult counterpart.
Juvenile strikes. A sustained petition for an offense listed in Welfare and Institutions Code section 707, subdivision (b), committed at age 16 or older can count as a prior strike under Penal Code section 667 if the person is later convicted of a felony as an adult. That is one reason the defense fights hard over which allegation is admitted; our guide to the Three Strikes law explains the stakes.
Juvenile Courts in the Inland Empire, High Desert, Los Angeles, and Orange County
Where cases are heard. Juvenile delinquency cases are heard in dedicated juvenile courts rather than the adult criminal courthouses. In Riverside County, juvenile matters are heard at the juvenile court facilities in Riverside, Murrieta, and Indio, depending on where the minor lives or the offense occurred. San Bernardino County hears juvenile cases in San Bernardino and in the High Desert for families from Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Adelanto, and Barstow. Los Angeles County operates several juvenile courts across the county, and Orange County hears juvenile cases at the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange. Locations and calendars change, so confirm the assignment on the notice you receive and on the county court's website.
Local practice. Riverside and San Bernardino probation departments make heavy use of informal supervision and diversion programs for first-time offenders, and the District Attorney's juvenile units in both counties will often agree to a reduced allegation when the family demonstrates engagement with school and counseling. High Desert families should know that juvenile detention may occur at a facility some distance from home, which makes the detention hearing release argument even more important. Our city pages for Victorville, Apple Valley, Riverside, and San Bernardino describe the local courts.
Mistakes parents make. The most damaging mistakes are letting the minor speak to police or school officials about the incident, speaking to the detective yourself in an effort to help, missing or arriving late to the detention hearing, and treating the probation interview as a casual conversation. Our guides on what not to say to police and what to do when a detective calls apply to parents as well as to the minor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my child need a lawyer in juvenile court?
Yes. Juvenile proceedings carry real consequences, including detention, probation, placement, possible transfer to adult court, and strike exposure, and a minor has a constitutional right to counsel under In re Gault (1967) 387 U.S. 1. The public defender will be appointed if the family qualifies. A private lawyer can begin before the probation intake interview, which is often where the case is won or lost. Daniel Gramling, Esq. offers flat-fee criminal defense and limited-scope options for juvenile matters.
Can my child be held in juvenile hall before the hearing?
Yes, but only if a judge finds detention necessary at a hearing held by the next judicial day after the petition is filed. Under Welfare and Institutions Code section 635, the judge considers whether detention is needed to protect the minor or the community or to prevent flight. There is no money bail in juvenile court. Parents who appear with a supervision plan, school records, and a stable home give the judge a reason to release the minor.
Is a juvenile case a criminal conviction?
No. Welfare and Institutions Code section 203 provides that a juvenile court adjudication is not a criminal conviction, hearings are generally closed, and records are confidential. Certain serious offenses committed at 16 or older can still count as strikes under Penal Code section 667, and some licensing and military applications ask about juvenile history, so the choice of allegation admitted still matters.
Can a 15-year-old be tried as an adult in California?
No. Since Senate Bill 1391 took effect, only minors who were 16 or 17 at the time of the offense can be transferred to adult court, and only after a judge grants the prosecutor's motion at a transfer hearing under Welfare and Institutions Code section 707. The California Supreme Court upheld that limit in O.G. v. Superior Court (2021) 11 Cal.5th 82. Prosecutors can no longer file juvenile cases directly in adult court.
Will my child's juvenile record be sealed?
Usually, yes, if the minor completes probation or informal supervision satisfactorily. Welfare and Institutions Code section 786 requires automatic dismissal and sealing in that situation, except for serious offenses listed in section 707, subdivision (b), committed at age 14 or older. For anything not sealed automatically, a petition under Welfare and Institutions Code section 781 is available later.
Can the police question my child without me there?
They can question a minor without a parent present, but not without a lawyer. Welfare and Institutions Code section 625.6 requires a consultation with an attorney before any custodial interrogation of a person under 18 and before any waiver of rights, and that consultation cannot be waived by the minor or the parent. Tell your child to say that they want a lawyer and do not want to answer questions, and then say nothing more.
Talk to a Lawyer Who Handles Juvenile and Criminal Cases
Gramling Law Group represents minors and their families in juvenile delinquency and criminal matters in Riverside County, San Bernardino County including the Victorville, Hesperia, and Apple Valley High Desert communities, Los Angeles County, Orange County, and throughout the Inland Empire and Southern California. Daniel Gramling, Esq. offers flat-fee criminal defense and limited-scope options so families know the cost from the start. Call (909) 654-4575 or contact us through this website for a consultation.
This article is educational and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It addresses California law only.
Related Guides From Gramling Law Group
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