Statutes

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

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Statutes

Q:	What is a "juvenile"?
A:	A juvenile is a youth at or below the upper age of original jurisdiction in a State.

Upper age of original juvenile court jurisdiction, 2004

State	Upper age of jurisdiction
State	Age 15	Age 16	Age 17

Alabama			X
Alaska			X
Arizona			X

Arkansas			X
California			X
Colorado			X

Connecticut	X
Delaware			X
District of Columbia			X

Florida			X
Georgia		X
Hawaii			X

Idaho			X
Illinois		X
Indiana			X

Iowa			X
Kansas			X
Kentucky			X

Louisiana		X
Maine			X
Maryland			X

Massachusetts		X
Michigan		X
Minnesota			X

Mississippi			X
Missouri		X
Montana			X

Nebraska			X
Nevada			X
New Hampshire		X

New Jersey			X
New Mexico			X
New York	X

North Carolina	X
North Dakota			X
Ohio			X

Oklahoma			X
Oregon			X
Pennsylvania			X

Rhode Island			X
South Carolina		X
South Dakota			X

Tennessee			X
Texas		X
Utah			X

Vermont			X
Virginia			X
Washington			X

West Virginia			X
Wisconsin		X
Wyoming			X

[ Excel file ]

The upper age of jurisdiction is the oldest age at which a juvenile court has original jurisdiction over an individual for law violating behavior.
State statutes define which youth are under the original jurisdiction of the juvenile court. These definitions are based primarily on age criteria. In most States, the juvenile court has original jurisdiction over all youth charged with a criminal law violation who were below the age of 18 at the time of the offense, arrest, or referral to court. Many States have higher upper ages of juvenile court jurisdiction in status offense, abuse, neglect, or dependency matters - often through age 20.
Since 1975 four States have changed their age criteria. Alabama increased its upper age from 15 to 16 in 1976, and to 17 in 1977. In 1993, Wyoming reduced its upper age from 18 to 17. In 1996, New Hampshire and Wisconsin both lowered their upper age from 17 to 16.
Many States have statutory exceptions to basic age criteria. The exceptions, related to the youth's age, alleged offense, and/or prior court history, place certain youth under the original jurisdiction of the criminal court. This is known as statutory exclusion.
In some States, a combination of the youth's age, offense, and prior record places the youth under the original jurisdiction of both the juvenile and criminal courts. In these situations where the courts have concurrent jurisdiction, the prosecutor is given the authority to decide which court will initially handle the case. This is known as concurrent jurisdiction, prosecutor discretion, or direct filing.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/structure_process/qa04101.asp?qaDate=2004. Released on March 27, 2006.

Adapted from Snyder, H. & Sickmund, M. (2006). Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report, Chapter 4. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Material originally compiled by P. Griffin for the National Center for Juvenile Justice's State Juvenile Justice Profiles website.