Nevada youth and the police: the rights script, juvenile court, and sealed records

Nevada law defines a child as a person under 18. A juvenile court (the part of the district court that hears cases about young people) can keep a case until the person turns 21.

Some cases can move to adult court. If the district attorney asks, a juvenile judge may certify (formally transfer) a child who was 14 or older and is charged with a felony, a serious crime. For murder or attempted murder, that age drops to 13. And some cases never start in juvenile court at all: murder or attempted murder by someone 16 or older is one of them.

Since 2021, a Nevada officer who takes a child into custody must tell the child, before a custodial interrogation (questioning while you are not free to leave), that you have the right to remain silent. The officer must also say that anything you say can be told to a judge. You have the right to have a parent or guardian with you, and the right to a lawyer with you. If your family cannot or will not pay, you get a free lawyer. Then the officer must ask if you understand and if you want to talk.

Nevada also bars two tactics. During that questioning, an officer may not knowingly lie about evidence in a way likely to get you to confess, and may not promise leniency the officer has no power to give. A statement taken in breach of those rules is presumed involuntary and not usable in court. There is a narrow exception for an imminent threat to life or property.

The officer must also try, without undue delay, to reach your parent or guardian.

The national foundation is In re Gault (1967). The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a young person facing juvenile court has the same core rights as an adult: notice of the charges, a lawyer, and the right not to incriminate themselves.

In Nevada, most juvenile records are sealed (closed off from public view) automatically within 60 days after you turn 18. If your case is still open at 18, the 60 days start when the court's jurisdiction ends.

You do not always have to wait. A person under 21 can ask the juvenile court to seal records 3 years after the last court finding, if no new charges are pending. Records of certain serious acts can stay unsealed until age 30.