Criminal Defense Attorney

Seventeen Going On Eighteen

As a criminal defense attorney, I consistently see parents delay resolution of their teenager’s misdemeanor until their child turns eighteen. This poor decision is usually based on the false assumption that, because the arrest happened when the kid was seventeen, juvenile consequences will always apply. While most states function under that mindset, Arizona juvenile law is frightenly unique.

In Arizona, all juvenile misdemeanors are automatically transferred to adult court if they are not resolved by the child’s eighteenth birthday. Thus, while most states focus on the date of the arrest, Arizona law focuses on the date of sentencing. In Arizona, if your child pleas guilty after his or her eighteenth birthday, then he or she will get adult consequences regardless of the date of the offense. This can be especially harsh for misdemeanors, like DUI, that have mandatory sentencing provisions. Small juvenile fines become exorbitant adult fines. Clean, safe juvenile detention morphs into “The Nightmare at Tent City.”

It is important to know that all city magistrates are deemed by statute to be “juvenile court hearing officers.” As a result, even though Mesa City Court does not have a special courtroom for juveniles, if your seventeen-year-old is cited into the City Court, until your child becomes eighteen, the Mesa City Judge must treat your child exactly as if he or she were appearing in the juvenile court building before a county juvenile court judge. Once your child turns eighteen, the “juvenile” city file is not sent to different “adult” building. The Mesa City Court clerk simply makes a notation in the file that the child is now an adult, and the City Judge must impose appropriate adult consequences.

So, please, should a neighbor, relative or friend seek your advice regarding a teen DUI or misdemeanor offense feel free to scream: RESOLVE IT BEFORE HE OR SHE TURNS 18!