Most juvenile offenses in California are handled in juvenile court, a system built around the premise that minors can be rehabilitated and that the consequences imposed on them should reflect their age and their capacity for change. But California law also contains provisions that allow, and in some circumstances require, certain juveniles to be prosecuted in adult criminal court, where the rules, the sentencing range, and the long-term consequences are fundamentally different.
If your child is facing serious criminal charges in San Bernardino County and there is any possibility that prosecutors may seek to move the case to adult court, understanding how that process works is not something that can wait, and neither is retaining a criminal defense firm in San Bernardino, CA. The fitness hearing is one of the most consequential proceedings in any juvenile case, and the window to prepare for it is often shorter than families realize.
What Proposition 57 Changed About Juvenile Transfers
Before Proposition 57 passed in 2016, California prosecutors had the authority to directly file charges against certain juveniles in adult court without any review by a judge. That mechanism no longer exists. Under current California law, all cases involving juvenile defendants must begin in juvenile court, and how juvenile court works shapes everything that follows. Prosecutors who want to try a juvenile as an adult must go through a transfer hearing, also called a fitness hearing, where a juvenile court judge evaluates whether the minor belongs in the adult system.
This was a meaningful shift because it placed a judicial check between the prosecution's decision to seek adult court and the actual result of adult prosecution. A judge applying specific legal criteria evaluates the minor's individual circumstances rather than a prosecutor making the call unilaterally. That judicial review is a real opportunity for defense counsel to present evidence and argument that keeps the case in juvenile court, which is where it almost always belongs for a minor whose future can still be shaped by the right intervention.
The Fitness Hearing Under Welfare and Institutions Code 707
A fitness hearing under WIC 707 is the formal proceeding where a juvenile court judge determines whether a minor is fit for the juvenile system or should be transferred to adult criminal court. The hearing turns on five statutory factors that the court must weigh and apply.
Those five factors are: the degree of criminal sophistication shown by the minor; whether the minor can be rehabilitated before the expiration of the juvenile court's jurisdiction; the minor's prior delinquency history; the success of any previous rehabilitative efforts; and the gravity of the offense and the circumstances of its commission. No single factor controls the outcome. The judge weighs all five together, and both sides have the right to present evidence and argument on each factor. This is not a brief or informal proceeding. Defense counsel has the opportunity to call witnesses, present records, retain experts, and make legal arguments that directly affect whether the case stays in juvenile court or moves to adult prosecution.
Which Offenses Can Lead to a Fitness Hearing
Not every juvenile offense opens the door to a fitness hearing. Welfare and Institutions Code 707(b) lists the specific offenses for which the prosecution may seek a transfer to adult court. These include murder charges, robbery with the use of a dangerous or deadly weapon, certain sexual assault offenses, assault with a firearm, kidnapping with bodily harm, and several other serious or violent felony categories.
For minors who are at least 16 years old at the time of the alleged offense and who are charged with a WIC 707(b) offense, the prosecution can request a transfer hearing. For minors alleged to have committed murder or certain other specified offenses who are at least 14 years old, a fitness hearing is also available. Both the minor's age and the specific offense matter. A defense attorney handling a juvenile case involving serious charges needs to identify early whether a fitness hearing is a realistic possibility and begin building the record for that hearing from the moment representation begins.
What Changes When a Minor Is Tried in Adult Court
The shift from juvenile court to adult criminal court is not merely procedural. In adult court, the minor does have the right to a jury trial, but they also face adult sentencing under the Penal Code. There is no disposition hearing with a range of rehabilitation-focused outcomes. A conviction in adult court creates a criminal record that does not disappear when the person turns 18, whether the charge was a misdemeanor or a felony. Sentences can include state prison. For the most serious offenses, prison terms can span decades.
Juvenile court, even when it imposes serious consequences, operates within a framework that maintains some connection to eventual release and the possibility of sealing the record later. Adult court does not carry that orientation, and the consequences of a felony conviction continue long after any sentence ends. The practical stakes of a fitness hearing are therefore enormous, and they are not always fully understood by families who are encountering this situation for the first time. A successful defense at the fitness stage can mean the difference between a young person who has a realistic path forward and one who carries an adult felony conviction for life.
How We Approach Fitness Hearings in San Bernardino County
Fitness hearings require genuine preparation. That preparation typically includes gathering the minor's school records and disciplinary history, obtaining psychological evaluations, preparing character testimony from teachers and family members, and in some cases retaining expert witnesses who can speak to the minor's developmental stage and realistic capacity for rehabilitation. The legal standard under WIC 707 must be applied to the specific facts of the minor's background and the alleged offense, and that requires understanding both the statute and how courts in San Bernardino County have applied its factors.
Tammy Higgins spent 16 years as a San Bernardino County public defender before founding our practice, and that background includes experience in courts handling the most serious juvenile cases. She has tried more than 100 jury trials in California, including homicide cases, and that depth of courtroom experience with serious felony matters directly informs how we approach and prepare for fitness hearings. We work with families in San Bernardino, Fontana, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, and throughout San Bernardino County on cases where the stakes are this significant. Early representation, from the moment a fitness hearing appears possible, is not an overreaction. It is the only response that makes sense.
Related Topics:
