The court ruled they could be so held only if the juveniles
understood the significance of the trial, aiding in their
own defense, and if they were capable of each and every
element of the charged crime. Here, the psychiatric
evidence demonstrated that the juveniles could not
possibly have formed the requisite intent to commit
aggravated sexual assault, and thus the complaints were
dismissed.
If, however, between ages 14 and 18 at the time of the
alleged offense, a juvenile may request to be transferred to
the adult criminal process. N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-27; R. 5:22-
- Any juvenile under the age of 14 charged with an
offense which would constitute murder may also elect to
be transferred to the adult criminal process. Id. A
juvenile between ages 14 and 18 may be transferred to the
adult criminal court against his will after a waiver hearing.
N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-26; R. 5:22-2. However, prior to the
actual occurrence of waiver (this procedure is also called
transfer, referral or certification), either upon the youth’s
request, or against his will by the court, he is still
considered a juvenile within the meaning of the statute.
B. Selected Matters Subject to the Family Court’s
Jurisdiction
- Juvenile Delinquency
A juvenile may be charged with delinquency based
upon the commission of an act, which, if perpetrated by
an adult, would constitute a crime, a disorderly persons
offense, a petty disorderly persons offense, or a violation
of any other penal statute, ordinance or regulation.
N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-23. See State in the Interest of M.S., 73
N.J. 238 (1977); State v. Bowen, 154 N.J. Super. 368,
374-376 (App. Div. 1977), certif. denied, 77 N.J. 479
(1978), decided under prior statute.
According to State in the Interest of M.C., 303 N.J.
Super. 624 (App. Div. 1997), a juvenile in possession of
a firearm may be prosecuted under either N.J.S.A.
2C:58-6.1b (an offense limited, by definition, only to
juveniles) or N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5c. Even if prosecuted
under the former, the juvenile still will be subject to
incarceration as a juvenile delinquent.
State in the Interest of A.B., 328 N.J. Super. 96 (Ch.
Div. 1999) concluded that a 16 year old juvenile who
took nude photographs of a 15 year old juvenile may be
charged with delinquency on the basis of violating
N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4b (endangering the welfare of a child).
The court holds that the child endangerment statute
applies to juvenile actors.State in the Interest of D.J.F. 336 N.J. Super. 214 (App.
Div. 2001) concluded that a juvenile can be charged
with delinquency for violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:33-17(a),
which prohibits service of alcoholic beverages to minors.- Motor Vehicle, Bicycle, Smoking and Curfew
Offenses
An individual age 17 or older who allegedly
committed a traffic offense in violation of any section of
N.J.S.A. 39:3, 4, 6, or 8 cannot be charged with
delinquency, but must be proceeded against as an adult
in the municipal court. N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-23; R. 5:23-1.
Similarly, a juvenile of any age who allegedly committed
a pedestrian or bicycle offense within articles 3 or 6 of
N.J.S.A. 39:4, a motorized bicycle offense within
N.J.S.A. 39:3 or 4 or a power vessel violation of N.J.S.A.
12:7 cannot be charged with delinquency and must be
prosecuted as an adult in the municipal court. N.J.S.A.
2A:4A-23; R. 5:23-1. In such cases, the municipal court
has jurisdiction regardless of whether the person
possesses a driver’s license. See Comment to former R.
5:9-6. Violations of a municipal ordinance enacted
under N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.52 pertaining to curfew
ordinances, and violations of the laws regarding smoking
in public also are not considered delinquency matters and
proceed in municipal court. N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-23.
Nevertheless, if a municipal court orders detention or
imposes imprisonment, for any of these matters, that
term shall be served at a juvenile institution and not a
county jail or county workhouse. N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-23.- Juvenile-Family Crisis
Under the law before 1974, a delinquency
adjudication could be based on certain noncriminal acts,
called status offenses (e.g., habitual vagrancy,
incorrigibility, immorality, etc.). As this approach too
harshly penalized and unnecessarily stigmatized a youth
for essentially noncriminal behavior, in 1974 the law
changed to provide that these “status offenders” be
charged not with delinquency, but with being in need of
supervision (JINS).With the revision of the juvenile justice code in 1983,
the JINS category was eliminated, and a juvenile-family
crisis category was enacted. Companion legislation
established juvenile-family crisis intervention units in
order to assist juveniles and their families whose behavior
creates a crisis situation. These juvenile family crisis