Under 18 in Florida: juvenile court, transfer at 14, and what happens to the record

When a Florida officer takes a child into custody, the statute says the officer must attempt to notify a parent, guardian, or legal custodian, and must keep trying until the parent is reached or the child is handed to the Department of Juvenile Justice, the state agency that runs juvenile detention and probation.

We could not confirm a Florida statute requiring that a minor speak with a lawyer or a parent before waiving the right to remain silent, so do not count on one. You can still say you want to remain silent and want a lawyer, and ask to call a parent.

Florida's transfer statute (the law on moving a child's case to adult court) has three doors. First, a child who was 14 or older at the time of the alleged act can be moved if the state attorney (the local prosecutor) files a motion and the juvenile judge agrees after a hearing. Second, the prosecutor must request transfer when a child 14 or older has certain prior violent felony findings, or faces a fourth felony with a violent or firearm history. Third, a child and a parent can demand adult court in writing; do not do that without a lawyer.

The prosecutor's motion normally must be filed within 7 days after the delinquency petition, and the judge must hold a hearing first. Florida also lets prosecutors file some cases directly in adult court; we did not confirm those details, so check chapter 985 of the Florida Statutes.

In Graham v. Florida (2010), Terrance Graham was 16 when he committed armed burglary in Jacksonville and was later sentenced to life in prison; the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Constitution does not allow a life sentence without parole for a juvenile in a case where no one was killed.

Juvenile court records in Florida are not open to the public, though the child, the parents, and their lawyers can always see them.

The criminal history record kept by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is on a timer. For most minors it is expunged (erased) 2 years after the person turns 19, which means at 21. For a serious or habitual juvenile offender, the timer runs 5 years past age 21. A person between 18 and 20 can apply for early expunction if they have not been charged with any crime in the past 5 years, with a $75 fee, fingerprints, and the state attorney's approval.

One warning: if the person is later charged with a forcible felony as an adult before the juvenile record is destroyed, the juvenile record merges into the adult record and stays.