California Welfare & Institutions Code 707 WIC outlines the procedure where juvenile court judges can transfer certain serious cases to criminal court.
A prosecutor must first make the transfer request to the judge. Then the probation officer must make a full report on the minor’s history and behavior. Finally, the judge will decide at a fitness hearing whether to grant the D.A.s request for the minor to be tried as an adult.
The full text of the statute reads as follows:
WIC 707. (a) (1) In any case in which a minor is alleged to be a person described in Section 602 by reason of the violation, when the minor was 16 years of age or older, of any offense listed in subdivision (b) or any other felony criminal statute, the district attorney or other appropriate prosecuting officer may make a motion to transfer the minor from juvenile court to a court of criminal jurisdiction. The motion shall be made prior to the attachment of jeopardy. Upon the motion, the juvenile court shall order the probation officer to submit a report on the behavioral patterns and social history of the minor. The report shall include any written or oral statement offered by the victim pursuant to Section 656.2.
(2) In any case in which an individual is alleged to be a person described in Section 602 by reason of the violation, when the individual was 14 or 15 years of age, of any offense listed in subdivision (b), but was not apprehended prior to the end of juvenile court jurisdiction, the district attorney or other appropriate prosecuting officer may make a motion to transfer the individual from juvenile court to a court of criminal jurisdiction. The motion shall be made prior to the attachment of jeopardy. Upon the motion, the juvenile court shall order the probation officer to submit a report on the behavioral patterns and social history of the individual. The report shall include any written or oral statement offered by the victim pursuant to Section 656.2. (3) Following submission and consideration of the report, and of any other relevant evidence that the petitioner or the minor may wish to submit, the juvenile court shall decide whether the minor should be transferred to a court of criminal jurisdiction. In order to find that the minor should be transferred to a court of criminal jurisdiction, the court shall find by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation while under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. In making its decision, the court shall consider the criteria specified in subparagraphs (A) to (E), inclusive. If the court orders a transfer of jurisdiction, the court shall recite the basis for its decision in an order entered upon the minutes, which shall include the reasons supporting the court’s finding that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation while under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. In any case in which a hearing has been noticed pursuant to this section, the court shall postpone the taking of a plea to the petition until the conclusion of the transfer hearing, and a plea that has been entered already shall not constitute evidence at the hearing. (A) (i) The degree of criminal sophistication exhibited by the minor. (ii) When evaluating the criterion specified in clause (i), the juvenile court shall give weight to any relevant factor, including, but not limited to, the minor’s age, maturity, intellectual capacity, and physical, mental, and emotional health at the time of the alleged offense; the minor’s impetuosity or failure to appreciate risks and consequences of criminal behavior; the effect of familial, adult, or peer pressure on the minor’s actions; the effect of the minor’s family and community environment; the existence of childhood trauma; the minor’s involvement in the child welfare or foster care system; and the status of the minor as a victim of human trafficking, sexual abuse, or sexual battery on the minor’s criminal sophistication. (B) (i) Whether the minor can be rehabilitated prior to the expiration of the juvenile court’s jurisdiction. (ii) When evaluating the criterion specified in clause (i), the juvenile court shall give weight to any relevant factor, including, but not limited to, the minor’s potential to grow and mature. (C) (i) The minor’s previous delinquent history. (ii) When evaluating the criterion specified in clause (i), the juvenile court shall give weight to any relevant factor, including, but not limited to, the seriousness of the minor’s previous delinquent history and the effect of the minor’s family and community environment and childhood trauma on the minor’s previous delinquent behavior. (D) (i) Success of previous attempts by the juvenile court to rehabilitate the minor. (ii) When evaluating the criterion specified in clause (i), the juvenile court shall give weight to any relevant factor, including, but not limited to, the adequacy of the services previously provided to address the minor’s needs. (E) (i) The circumstances and gravity of the offense alleged in the petition to have been committed by the minor. (ii) When evaluating the criterion specified in clause (i), the juvenile court shall give weight to any relevant factor, including, but not limited to, the actual behavior of the person, the mental state of the person, the person’s degree of involvement in the crime, the level of harm actually caused by the person, and the person’s mental and emotional development. (iii) When evaluating the criterion specified in clause (i), the court shall consider evidence offered that indicates that the person against whom the minor is accused of committing an offense trafficked, sexually abused, or sexually battered the minor. (b) This subdivision is applicable to any case in which a minor is alleged to be a person described in Section 602 by reason of the violation of one of the following offenses:
(1) Murder.
(2) Arson, as provided in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 451 of the Penal Code.
(3) Robbery.
(4) Rape with force, violence, or threat of great bodily harm.
(5) Sodomy by force, violence, duress, menace, or threat of great bodily harm.
(6) A lewd or lascivious act as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 288 of the Penal Code.
(7) Oral copulation by force, violence, duress, menace, or threat of great bodily harm.
(8) An offense specified in subdivision (a) of Section 289 of the Penal Code.
(10) Kidnapping for purposes of robbery.
(11) Kidnapping with bodily harm.
(12) Attempted murder.
(13) Assault with a firearm or destructive device.
(14) Assault by any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury.
(15) Discharge of a firearm into an inhabited or occupied building.
(16) An offense described in Section 1203.09 of the Penal Code.
(17) An offense described in Section 12022.5 or 12022.53 of the Penal Code.
(18) A felony offense in which the minor personally used a weapon described in any provision listed in Section 16590 of the Penal Code.
(19) A felony offense described in Section 136.1 or 137 of the Penal Code.
(20) Manufacturing, compounding, or selling one-half ounce or more of a salt or solution of a controlled substance specified in subdivision (e) of Section 11055 of the Health and Safety Code.
(21) A violent felony, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code, which also would constitute a felony violation of subdivision (b) of Section 186.22 of the Penal Code.
(22) Escape, by the use of force or violence, from a county juvenile hall, home, ranch, camp, or forestry camp in violation of subdivision (b) of Section 871 if great bodily injury is intentionally inflicted upon an employee of the juvenile facility during the commission of the escape.
(23) Torture as described in Sections 206 and 206.1 of the Penal Code.
(24) Aggravated mayhem, as described in Section 205 of the Penal Code.
(25) Carjacking, as described in Section 215 of the Penal Code, while armed with a dangerous or deadly weapon.
(26) Kidnapping for purposes of sexual assault, as punishable in subdivision (b) of Section 209 of the Penal Code.
(27) Kidnapping as punishable in Section 209.5 of the Penal Code.
(28) The offense described in subdivision (c) of Section 26100 of the Penal Code.
(29) The offense described in Section 18745 of the Penal Code.
(30) Voluntary manslaughter, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 192 of the Penal Code.
Legal Analysis
Under California Welfare & Institutions Code 707, juvenile court prosecutors can ask the juvenile court judge to transfer cases to criminal court if either:
- the minor was 16- or 17 years old at the time of the alleged offense, and the offense is any felony or crime listed in WIC 707(b); or
- the minor was 14- or 15 years old at the time of the alleged offense, the offense is a crime listed in WIC 707(b), and the minor was not arrested until after turning 18.
After the prosecutor files the motion for the case transfer, the court will order the probation officer to submit a report on the minor’s social history and behavior pattern. The court will then hold a fitness hearing to determine whether the minor should:
- remain in juvenile court, or
- be transferred to criminal court.
In deciding whether to grant the prosecution’s transfer request, the court will consider the following six factors:
- The minor’s maturity and mental and emotional health;
- Whether the juvenile court system can rehabilitate the minor;
- The minor’s prior criminal history;
- Whether the minor is a victim of human trafficking or sexual abuse;
- The success of prior attempts by the juvenile court to rehabilitate the minor; and,
- The seriousness of the offenses allegedly committed by the minor.1
Minors whose cases are transferred to criminal court can appeal by filing a writ petition within 20 days after the arraignment.2
WIC 707 permits the most serious juvenile court cases to be transferred to criminal court in California.
See our related article on Juvenile Strike Crimes.
Legal References
- Welfare & Institutions Code 707 WIC – Decision whether to transfer minor to court of criminal jurisdiction; Investigation and submission of report; Criteria. See, for example, In re J.B. (Cal. App. 6th Dist., 2022), 75 Cal. App. 5th 410; People v. Hwang (Cal. App. 2d Dist., 2021), 274 Cal. Rptr. 3d 536, 60 Cal. App. 5th 358. SB 545 (2023).
- California Rule of Court Rule 5.770(g).