California · Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC

WIC §602: (a) Except as provided in Section 707, any minor who is between 12 years of age and 17 years of age, inclusive, when he or she violates any law of this state or of the United States or any ordinance o

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

This statute defines the jurisdiction of juvenile courts over minors who commit crimes. Minors aged 12–17 who violate any law may be adjudged wards of the court; minors under 12 may be if they commit specified violent sex offenses or murder.

Read the full statutory text

(a) Except as provided in Section 707, any minor who is between 12 years of age and 17 years of age, inclusive, when he or she violates any law of this state or of the United States or any ordinance of any city or county of this state defining crime other than an ordinance establishing a curfew based solely on age, is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge the minor to be a ward of the court. (b) Any minor who is under 12 years of age when he or she is alleged to have committed any of the following offenses is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge the minor to be a ward of the court: (1) Murder. (2) Rape by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury. (3) Sodomy by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury. (4) Oral copulation by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury. (5) Sexual penetration by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury.

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.