Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

In order for a minor to be tried as an adult there must first be a determination through a "fitness" hearing that the minor is unfit for Juvenile court. However before a fitness hearing can be brought the first thing that must happen is the Prosecutor/DA's office must make the decision to charge the minor as an adult. After that decision a fitness hearing will be held and the Judge will determine if the minor is unfit for the Juvenile system.

The Prosecutor can consider charging the minor as an adult when the minor is at least 16 years old in regards to any crime. They can also consider it when the minor is 16 years old and they have been accused of committing a felony and have committed two or more felonies after the age of 14. They can also charge a minor as an adult when the minor is 14 or older and the minor is accused of committing one of the W&I - 707(b) offenses. There is a list of 707(b) offenses but they are generally violent crimes or sexual crimes. However it does include Robbery.

The next step is the fitness hearing. In the fitness hearing the Prosecutor is trying to prove to a Judge that the minor is unfit for the Juvenile system. This is very different than being found fit for adult court. In a fitness hearing the judge is really deciding if the minor will benefit from being kept in the Juvenile system. The Juvenile system offers more in the way of rehabilitation than the adult system and the Judge is deciding if the minor will benefit from the tools of rehabilitation in the Juvenile system. In order to make such a determination the Judge will use the five (5) factors specified in California Welfare and Institution Code, section 707. The five (5) factors are: (1) The sophistication of the crime, (2) The chance of the rehabilitation of the minor before the expiration of the juvenile court's jurisdiction in the matter, (3) The minor's previous history of criminal activity, (4) The minor's previous attempts at rehabilitation and their success or lack thereof and (5) The seriousness of the current charge and the circumstances under which the current charge took place. The Judge will also consider such things as mitigating and aggravating circumstances. Basically this means the surrounding circumstances of the events that took place leading up to the crime.

If the Judge determines the minor will not benefit from the rehabilitation tools in the Juvenile system then the minor will be charged as an adult.