Juveniles Charged in Adult Criminal Courts, 2014

• NCJ Number: 309096
• Date Published: January 2025
• Author(s): Suzanne M. Strong
• Length: 20 pages
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Type: Publication; Statistics

Abstract

Through the Survey of Juveniles Charged in Adult Criminal Courts, which BJS conducted with support from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, this report examines data from 23 states where juveniles (defined as persons ages 12 to 17) were charged in adult criminal courts between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014. It focuses on the 23,553 cases where the most serious charge was known at arrest and case disposition. The report covers cases filed in adult criminal courts against juveniles at several stages throughout the court process: most serious charge at arrest, method of disposition, case outcome, and sentencing. It also presents statistics on the demographic characteristics of these juveniles.

Highlights:

• For one-third of persons ages 12 to 17 charged in adult criminal courts, the most serious offense was a property crime both at arrest (32%) and at disposition (33%).  
• Most persons ages 12 to 17 charged in adult criminal courts were male (75%).
• Across offense types, the most serious charge at disposition differed from the most serious charge at arrest in up to 15% of the cases for persons ages 12 to 17.  
• At case disposition, 65% of persons ages 12 to 17 charged with a felony in adult criminal courts were convicted, compared to 25% of persons charged with a misdemeanor.