You are here: Information Center >> Criminal Law >> Specific Offenses >> Juvenile Crimes

Juvenile Crimes

All states have special courts that deal with minors who have committed crimes. Minors have special rights that allow the disposition of their cases to remain private and unavailable to public examination. Additionally, juveniles do not have the right to a jury trial. Crimes involving juveniles have a different and less severe range of punishment than the same crimes committed by an adult. The basis for different treatment of juvenile crimes is that minors have less, or a complete absence of, criminal intent. However, most states now have laws that allow minors to be tried as adults in many cases. In some, children as young as 14 years old can be tried for felony crimes as adults.