FACT BRIEF

Do most states set a minimum age for juvenile-court defendants?

Monday, March 29, 2021

By Lisa Freedland

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Most U.S. states don’t set a minimum age at which children may be prosecuted in juvenile courts, according to data collected by the National Juvenile Defender Center.

Fifteen states set the minimum age at 10. No state sets the minimum age higher than 12. The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child advocates that the minimum age of criminal responsibility be at least 14, already the most common choice internationally.

Advocates in some states, like North Carolina, have called to raise the minimum age required for trial as a juvenile delinquent from six to 10 years old. Bills in other states like Georgia are seeking to raise the maximum age at which a minor can be tried in juvenile court for misdemeanors. In every state, laws allow youth accused of more serious offenses to be tried as adults, regardless of age.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

National Juvenile Defender Center Minimum age for delinquency adjudication

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child General comment No. 24 (2019) on children’s rights in the child justice system

Campaign for Youth Justice 2019 legislative reforms

National Conference of State Legislatures Juvenile age of jurisdiction and transfer to adult court laws

Winston-Salem Journal North Carolina sends 6-year-olds to court—Why some say it’s time for change

State of Georgia HB 272: Juvenile court to include children who are under 18 years of age

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