The Evolving Law of Juvenile Jurisdiction

The law that governs which cases begin under juvenile jurisdiction changed three times between 2019 and 2025. Each change applies to offenses beginning on and after the effective date of the legislation and is impacted by subsequent changes. This blog pulls the different changes together in one place, providing the quick reference chart below to explain which cases begin under juvenile jurisdiction and which cases begin under criminal jurisdiction. Reading the Chart Whether original jurisdiction lies with juvenile or criminal court depends on the date of the offense, the age of the juvenile at the time of the offense, and the classification of the charge(s). The chart below uses this information to show which court has original jurisdiction. For example, reading the first row of the chart, juvenile court has original jurisdiction for any offense committed before December 1, 2019, by a juvenile who was at least age 6 and not yet age 16. Criminal court has original jurisdiction for any offense committed before December 1, 2019, by a juvenile who was aged 16 or older at the time of the offense. The second row of the chart shows how original juvenile jurisdiction was expanded when the original raise the age law was implemented, beginning with offenses committed on December 1, 2019. As shown in that row, this law governs original jurisdiction for all offenses committed from December 1, 2019, through November 30, 2021. The third row of the chart reflects changes made to the lower age of juvenile jurisdiction. These [...]