Police stops and juvenile court in Arizona: what happens before 18

Section 8-303 lets an officer take a juvenile into temporary custody without a warrant when there are reasonable grounds to believe the juvenile committed a delinquent act, which means something that would be a crime for an adult. When the act would be a felony or a breach of the peace, the statute says the officer must do three things. Before questioning, the officer must advise the juvenile of 'juvenile Miranda rights' in language a juvenile can understand. As soon as practicable, the officer must make a good faith effort to notify the parents, guardian, or custodian. Then the officer must explain those same rights to the parents.

The same section says a juvenile in temporary custody may not be held in a police station, jail, or lockup where adults charged with crimes are held, and may be released only to a parent, guardian, or custodian or to the juvenile court. If the custody happens on school grounds, a school employee must immediately notify the parents after checking with the investigating agency.

A warning is not the same as a lawyer. The right to have one comes from In re Gault (1967). Gerald Gault, 15, was sent to the State Industrial School by the Juvenile Court of Gila County without a lawyer or a real hearing. The Supreme Court held that a juvenile facing possible commitment must get notice of the charges, the right to counsel, the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses, and the privilege against self-incrimination. In Arizona today, that means you can say you want a lawyer before answering questions, and then stop talking.

In Arizona, the juvenile court is a division of the superior court in each county. The Arizona courts' Self-Service Center says it hears delinquency, incorrigibility (a child who keeps disobeying parents or the court), emancipation, and related matters. Section 8-202 gives it jurisdiction over offenses committed by people under 18, and section 13-501 says nothing in that section puts anyone 18 or older in juvenile court. Traffic tickets for juveniles may be sent to a regular court if the county's presiding judge allows it.

Some cases skip juvenile court. Under section 13-501, the county attorney must charge a 15-, 16-, or 17-year-old as an adult for first or second degree murder, forcible sexual assault, armed robbery, any other violent felony, or any felony if the juvenile is a chronic felony offender, meaning two prior separate felony-level adjudications. For other serious felonies, the county attorney may choose adult court for anyone 14 or older. A juvenile charged as a chronic felony offender can ask for a hearing before trial, and if the state cannot prove that history, the case goes back to juvenile court.

Arizona does not call it sealing. Section 8-349 lets a person who was adjudicated delinquent apply to the juvenile court to destroy their juvenile court and juvenile corrections records. At 18 you can apply if the case was not one of the adult-court offenses listed in section 13-501 or a driving offense under title 28, you finished probation, paid restitution, have no felony conviction and no pending charge, and are not on the sex offender registry. The court may then order the records destroyed.

If the offense was on the 13-501 list, the wait is longer: you can apply at 25 with a similar checklist. Fines can be modified by the court if you cannot pay them in full. The application is filed in the juvenile court of the county where the case was heard.