Juvenile delinquency matters really do matter and they really are serious. Juveniles can be ordered into juvenile probation, residential treatment facilities, and can be sentenced to juvenile detention for up to 30 days. Juveniles convicted of felonies or multiple misdemeanors can be committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice for up to three years. The most serious juvenile matters, where the juvenile is tried as adult, can result in an adult prison sentence. Juvenile offenses are anything but trivial or “just” juvenile court.
Delinquency adjudications are not always hidden from the public. They do not always just “disappear” upon hitting adulthood. The truth is that a juvenile felony conviction will be a part of one’s criminal history for the rest of one’s life. It does not disappear. It is not automatically expunged. Juveniles in these situations will be treated just as adults with the same consequences as adults.
The story is somewhat more promising for misdemeanors. Misdemeanor juvenile adjudications will be expunged when the person reaches 19 years of age or after five years from the delinquency adjudication.
There is an entirely different rule for traffic matters. When a juvenile is found guilty of a juvenile offense, that traffic offense can remain on a persons Department of Motor Vehicles record until the age of 29.
Virginia’s Once an Adult, Always an Adult. If a juvenile is deemed an adult in a proceeding, “[t]he trial or treatment of a juvenile as an adult pursuant to the provisions of … [Virginia’s juvenile code] shall preclude the juvenile court from taking jurisdiction of such juvenile for subsequent offenses committed by that juvenile.” According to the Virginia Supreme Court, the juvenile is now an adult for any subsequent charges. Thus, a misdemeanor offense that would not normally be brought against a juvenile in the adult court, must be prosecuted in the adult court if the juvenile was tried or treated as an adult in a prior proceeding.
In addition to the consequences of being adjudicated a juvenile delinquent, merely charging a juvenile with certain crimes requires notice to the superintendent of the school the juvenile attends. The juvenile charge may be required on a college application.
Juveniles 14 years of age or older and who are charged with certain violent offenses will tried as an adult, assuming probable cause that he or she committed the crime is established.
An adjudication of delinquency or a deferred finding on a misdemeanor could result in the juvenile’s license suspension.
Offenses such as underage alcohol possession, marijuana possession, or truancy require a juvenile’s license be suspended. If a juvenile does not have a license at the time of the adjudication, the juvenile’s chance to get a license may be suspended.
An adult found guilty of a crime and who has a juvenile record may increase a sentence.