The crimes minors commit in California are more or less similar to those of adults. But the law is a little more lenient on young offenders than it is with adults. It advocates for treatment, rehabilitation, a second chance for a minor offender, and punishment for adult offenders. However, when children commit severe felonies, their consequences could be a little more severe. The juvenile court can order their commitment to the Division of Juvenile Justice, or DJJ. Committing a minor offender to DJJ is almost the same as sending an adult offender to prison. It is a rehabilitation and correctional facility that restricts the movement and interactions of juvenile offenders for a period.

If your child has committed a severe felony in Bakersfield and the judge has committed them to DJJ, it helps to understand what it means and what to expect. Our skilled criminal lawyers at California Criminal Lawyer Group have the information you need to understand what commitment to a DJJ entails. We can also help you with your child’s defense to compel the judge to conclude your child’s case favorably.

The Juvenile Justice System

Even though children commit severe crimes like adults in California, their criminal cases are heard and determined through a different justice system. Since children can change and live a crime-free adult life, the justice system allows them to do that. Instead of taking a juvenile offender through the criminal justice system that advocates for punishment, the law chooses a different system to analyze the child’s potential for change and utilize available resources to help them reform. That way, a child will least likely engage in crime as an adult.

However, your child must undergo an extensive legal process before the judge decides. They will be arrested and booked, just like everyone who commits a crime. But the police will hand them over to the probation officer instead of jailing them. The district attorney can file a petition against them in court if there is overwhelming evidence of their wrongdoing. If not, the probation department will release the minor to you. Before receiving and reviewing the petition, a juvenile court judge must hold a hearing to determine whether or not to release the child to you pending the case's conclusion.

Every decision law enforcers make during this process must align with the child’s best interests. For example, the judge is compelled to release the child to you unless the child is in danger or poses a risk to the public in specific circumstances. The judge must also consider the likelihood of the minor reoffending while under your care. If the child is safe under your care and you promise to ensure they follow through with the case, they will be back with you on the same day of their arrest.

Several other processes follow a minor’s arrest. For example, the minor must go through several hearings, including detention, fitness, adjudication, and disposition hearings. Once the judge hears the case and reviews all evidence and testimonies from the prosecution and defense, they will decide what to do with the child. If the evidence against your child is overwhelming, the judge will sustain the petition against them. They will consider several disposition options to determine the action against your child. Commitment to the DJJ is usually the judge’s last option. It is mainly reserved for serious felonies.

Once the judge makes the final decision, you can contest that decision with the help of a skilled criminal attorney. Sometimes, a harsh disposition is not ideal for straightening a wayward child. An experienced attorney can help the judge realize that and suggest more suitable dispositions that serve your child's best interests.

What Commitment to DJJ Means

The juvenile system is designed to benefit children who go through it. When a minor commits a crime, they should be supported in every way possible to reform and make better decisions in the future. Punishing them, as done to adult offenders through the adult justice system, is usually not the ideal solution. Children cannot make morally upright judgments like adults. Sometimes, they do not understand right or wrong and could lack the ability to understand the consequences of their actions. Since their cognitive ability is still developing, they could make the wrong decisions. That is why children deserve a second chance when they violate the law.

The juvenile system has several solutions for children who commit crimes. It advocates for counseling, placement in foster care, drug and/or alcohol treatment, behavior management, anger management, and anything else a child needs to make better decisions in the future. Children must also continue their education in these programs and adhere to strict terms and conditions. The DJJ offers various programs to ensure that children under its care receive the help and support they need to transform. The children who could be committed to DJJ facilities include the following:

  • Wards of juvenile courts.
  • Children facing charges for severe felonies under the Welfare and Institutions Act 707b.
  • Those facing charges for sex crimes under Penal Code 290.008(c).

When the judge commits your child to DJJ, they must endure a more severe and prolonged commitment. They could serve their complete sentence in solitary detention in a DJJ facility before moving to prison. That will happen if they have committed a severe or violent felony.

However, the judge considers several factors before committing a juvenile offender to DJJ. Typically, they will consider the following:

  • The child’s age.
  • How mature is the minor.
  • What the minor requires to transform.
  • Their risk factors.
  • Their need for treatment and education.

Previously, serious juvenile offenders were sent to the California Youth Authority. But later on, CYA was placed under the Corrections and Rehabilitation Authority, changing its name to DJJ. Minors who are committed to DJJ can remain in confinement until they attain the age of 25. Within their period of commitment, they will receive education and counseling. Only a few juvenile offenders who go through the juvenile justice system are sent to a DJJ facility. It is the closest a child comes to a prison.

When your child breaks the law, the judge in a juvenile court makes the final decision on what will happen to them. If evidence shows that you have not been taking care of your child or the court needs to make a drastic decision for the child’s sake, the judge can make your child a ward. It means that the court will take responsibility for the child. That could happen if your child is a repeat offender or you cannot satisfy their needs. Once the child is a ward, the court will decide what the child needs and what must be done to them, according to their interests.

The judge can detain your child in a treatment facility where they receive education, care, and rehabilitation. Sometimes, a child needs strict rules to change. If the judge feels that way, they commit your child to a DJJ facility. These facilities are designed to handle juveniles who face charges for severe felonies. They have programs designed to meet every child’s unique needs to experience a complete reformation in the way a child thinks and behaves. For example, your child can learn a skill that will enable them to survive once they complete their sentence.

Additionally, your child will undergo intensive behavior modification and rehabilitation treatments to encourage them to make better choices and decisions.

Crimes That Can Result in Commitment to DJJ

The crimes children commit today are no longer petty offenses and infractions. Some youngsters have been arrested for far more severe crimes, like murder and rape. The juvenile system advocates for dispositions according to the crimes minors commit. A minor offense could result in probation, while a severe felony can result in a stringent disposition, like a commitment to DJJ. Juvenile offenders require treatment, care, and education to live a healthy, crime-free life as adults.

The most severe felonies minors commit are under the Welfare and Institutions Act 707(b). The statute details all crimes that, if your child commits them, can end up in a DJJ facility. Some of these crimes include the following:

  • Kidnapping.
  • Murder.
  • Mayhem.
  • Rape, mainly when accomplished using violence, force, or threat of harm.
  • Robbery.
  • Arson.
  • Lascivious or lewd acts on a child.
  • Assault with a deadly weapon.
  • Kidnapping for ransom.
  • Kidnapping to commit robbery.
  • Sodomy through force, violence, or threat of harm.
  • Oral copulation through violence, force, or threat of harm.
  • Violating PC 289(a).
  • A kidnapping that results in bodily harm.
  • Attempted murder.
  • Assault resulting in serious bodily harm.
  • Discharging a firearm in an occupied or inhabited structure.
  • Violating Penal Code 1203.09.
  • Carjacking.
  • Torture.
  • Some drug crimes.

The judge can commit a juvenile to DJJ even if their crime does not fall under this statute. If your child has a severe history of delinquency and is likely to re-offend, the judge can choose a more stringent disposition for them. Commitment to DJJ can instill the education, treatment, and rehabilitation they need to change, especially if other dispositions have failed the child in the past. The judge can also commit your child if they pose a threat to the public. If the details of their crime include significant harm to the victims, the judge can make this tough decision.

However, committing a child to DJJ is usually challenging, even for the judge. The judge has to engage the probation department and other stakeholders. They must also carefully consider the details of the child’s case to arrive at the final decision. The judge must also examine all the evidence the prosecution and defense teams presented and hear testimonies from witnesses.

You can work with your child’s defense attorney to present a compelling argument in court on why DJJ is not an ideal option for the child. Your child will also have an opportunity to explain their actions and choices. The judge will choose DJJ if it is in the child’s best interest and for community safety.

Rehabilitation Facilities Under DJJ

Remember that DJJ facilities only house severe juvenile delinquents. Even if the facilities are more like prisons for adult offenders, they are designed to meet the needs of all children in confinement. Children who go through DJJ succeed in these and more endeavors:

  • They are restored to their communities.
  • They are rehabilitated and instructed on correct thinking and behavior.
  • They can reconcile with and pay victim restitution.

Remember that the judge does not always send all serious juvenile offenders to DJJ. Children who end up in these facilities are those who:

  • Have been sent there by a juvenile court judge.
  • Have been sent to prison in an adult court while they are still minors.

If your child has committed a severe or violent felony, the judge will first hold a fitness hearing. The hearing determines the child’s suitability for a juvenile court trial. If the judge rules that your child is unfit for the juvenile justice system, they will be treated like an adult in a criminal court. If a criminal court finds your child guilty of a severe felony and is sentenced to prison, the judge can send them to DJJ until they turn 25, when they can complete their sentence.

Remember that you can contest the judge’s decision at every step of the legal process. If you argue that sending your child to a DJJ facility is not in their best interest, the judge can detain them for up to 90 days before making the final decision. During that period, the judge can order your child to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to help the country decide the best disposition for them.

If the court decides to transfer the child to a detention facility, they should be at least eleven or older. If the child is almost 18 when they are sent to a detention facility, they could be transferred to prison once they become adults. But if they can complete their sentence before turning 25, they could remain in a DJJ facility until they complete their sentence. Once your child is in a detention facility, they should participate in all the programs provided. They must also adhere to strict rules and conditions to remain there.

The Factors The Judge Considers When Committing a Child to DJJ

Sending a child to a DJJ facility is usually challenging, even for the judge. Judges must be sure that DJJ is a suitable facility for that particular child. The goal is to allow the child to benefit from available programs to rehabilitate, educate, and reform the child. Some of the factors that inform the judge’s decision are:

The Minor’s Education Needs

Many children are usually still attending school when they engage in crime. Since all children have the right to education in California, they do not lose that right after an arrest. The judge will consider the child’s education needs when choosing an appropriate disposition, even for children who have not yet joined or dropped out of school.

When your loved one is committed to DJJ, the facility will create appropriate programs to ensure they continue their education. Thus, you must provide details about your child’s education in court.

The Minor’s Age

Age is a critical factor when the judge chooses the proper disposition for a juvenile offender. Age determines many things, including your child’s suitability for commitment. An adult offender cannot stay in the same correctional facility as a minor. Very young children cannot be detained together with older children. DJJ facilities accept juvenile offenders up to eleven. Once in a DJJ facility, your child is placed in the same cell and group with their agemates. The facility can tailor its programs to suit every child’s needs.

You can contest the judge’s decision if your minor is young and cannot fit in a detention facility.

The Minor’s Medical History

A child will likely receive the best attention and care from their family. However, separating a minor from their family can be done if it is the only way to instill discipline and transform them from juvenile delinquency. However, you must inform the judge of your child’s medical needs to ensure that help will be available when they need it while in detention.

If your child’s medical needs will likely worsen in detention, the judge can reconsider the decision to commit them to DJJ. The judge can order them to take a physical examination and medical tests to determine the gravity of the matter. It is advisable to inform the court of your child's medical issues. That will enable the judge to make a decision that suits the child’s best interests.

A Minor’s Life in DJJ

Since DJJ facilities are more like prisons for adult offenders, they could be long and brutal for youngsters. Children are engaged in activities all day. They must attend school daily and participate in all activities the facility requires. Once the child graduates high school, they must enroll in college for vocational training.

Your child can work in the DJJ facility after school to earn income. For example, they can earn money by doing the following:

  • Preparing food.
  • Landscaping.
  • Doing janitorial duties.

Your child can also enroll in extra programs besides what the facility offers to cater to their unique needs. For example:

  • Sexual behavior treatment.
  • Advanced behavioral treatment.
  • A housing facility for improved mental health.
  • Any other program for behavioral treatment.

You will be allowed to visit your child in the facility occasionally, provided you are not a threat to their safety. DJJ facilities have strict rules that family members must abide by if they wish to visit their loved ones in detention. Some laws stipulate how often and when you can visit, the number of visitors a child can receive, and what to bring to the child.

When finalizing your child’s case, the judge will mention how long the minor will be committed to DJJ. Before they enter a detention facility, the judge will determine the maximum time they must remain in detention. Depending on your child's needs, the time can be short or long. Sometimes, a child can stay in a DJJ facility longer than an adult in prison for the same offense.

You Can Change or Modify The Judge’s Decision

Juvenile cases are usually heard and determined by the judge in a juvenile court. A juvenile offender does not stand a jury trial, whereby a panel considers evidence and arguments to determine whether or not they are guilty. The judge usually facilitates the entire process.

However, a judge’s ruling on your child’s case is usually not binding. You can challenge a judge’s decisions and compel them to make a more favorable ruling if you feel the disposition is too harsh for your child. You can do so with the help of a skilled criminal attorney. If you think DJJ is too difficult for your child or the facility will not accommodate your child’s unique needs, you can bring this up in a petition to the court.

The judge will consider modifying your arguments or sticking with the initial ruling. But note that juvenile court judges have several disposition alternatives at their disposal. The judge will choose the second-best alternative if they agree that a DJJ facility is not in your child’s best interests.

Find a Competent Criminal Attorney Near Me

Is your child facing a serious felony charge in Bakersfield and could be committed to DJJ?

A commitment to a DJJ facility is a harsh sentence for a juvenile. Juvenile court judges only choose that disposition for serious young offenders.

It helps to take time to understand what this disposition entails, how it can benefit your child and the drawbacks. Our skilled attorneys at California Criminal Lawyer Group can also help you weigh your options. We can review your child’s case to determine whether or not the judge’s decision is in their best interest. Then, we can help you find the best possible outcome for their case. Call us at 661-750-8230 to learn more about what we can do for you.