When the Accused Is a Juvenile: Sex Offense Cases in Michigan

When a person under 18 is accused of a sex offense in Michigan, the case ordinarily belongs to the family division of circuit court, not the adult criminal docket.^[1] The main exception is first-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC), which the Legislature has listed as a "specified juvenile violation" that the prosecuting attorney may charge in adult court against a juvenile 14 or older.^[1][2]

This page explains where a juvenile's case is heard, the three ways a juvenile can be treated as an adult, what a juvenile court may order, and how the sex offender registry applies. Court rules for juvenile proceedings were not read for this guide, so day-to-day procedure in the family division is not described here.

Which court hears the case?

The family division has "exclusive original jurisdiction superior to and regardless of the jurisdiction of another court in proceedings concerning a juvenile under 18 years of age" who has violated any municipal ordinance or law of the state or of the United States.^[1]

In a case that stays in the family division, the court enters an order of disposition. The dispositions the court may enter include a warning to the juvenile or the juvenile's parents and placing the juvenile on probation or under supervision in the juvenile's own home; the statute lists further placement and commitment options that this page does not detail.^[6]

There is no minimum age for the accused in the age-based CSC provisions. Third-degree CSC by age contains no minimum age for the accused, no age-gap requirement and no consent exception, and the Court of Appeals has said there is no public policy bar to prosecuting one child for sexual acts with another child in the same protected age group.^[7] See the age of consent in Michigan and statutory rape laws.

How can a juvenile end up being treated as an adult?

Michigan law provides three routes. Each has its own statute.

Route	Who it applies to	Who decides	Where the case is heard
Complaint and warrant for a specified juvenile violation	A juvenile 14 or older but less than 18 believed to have committed a specified juvenile violation, a list that includes first-degree CSC[2]	The prosecuting attorney[2]	Adult criminal court; the circuit court has jurisdiction over these violations[2]
Waiver on motion	A juvenile 14 or older accused of an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult[8]	The family division judge, on the prosecuting attorney's motion[8]	After waiver, the court having general criminal jurisdiction[8]
Designation	Any juvenile petition; the prosecutor designates for a specified juvenile violation, and asks the court to designate for other offenses[9]	The prosecuting attorney or, for other offenses, the court after a hearing[9]	The family division, tried in the same manner as an adult[9]

Route 1: charging first-degree CSC directly in adult court

If the prosecuting attorney has reason to believe that a juvenile 14 or older but less than 18 has committed a specified juvenile violation, the prosecutor may authorize the filing of a complaint and warrant.^[2] The family division has jurisdiction over a juvenile 14 or older charged with such a violation "only if the prosecuting attorney files a petition in the court instead of authorizing a complaint and warrant."^[1]

Among the CSC statutes, only section 520b (first-degree CSC) appears in the list of specified juvenile violations.^[1] The elements are explained in first-degree CSC.

Route 2: waiver by the family division judge

For any act that would be a felony for an adult, the family division judge may waive jurisdiction of a juvenile 14 or older on the prosecutor's motion.^[8] "Felony" for this purpose means an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year or designated by law as a felony.^[10] Fourth-degree CSC, although labeled a misdemeanor, is punishable by up to 2 years.^[11]

The statute requires two steps before waiver.^[8]

1. The court determines on the record whether there is probable cause to believe that a felony-level offense was committed and that the juvenile committed it.^[8]
2. The court holds a hearing to determine whether the best interests of the juvenile and the public would be served by waiver, considering listed criteria and giving greater weight to the seriousness of the alleged offense and the juvenile's prior record of delinquency than to the other criteria.^[8]

If the juvenile has no lawyer, the court must advise the juvenile and the parents or guardian of the right to representation and appoint legal counsel.^[12]

Route 3: designated cases

For a specified juvenile violation, the prosecuting attorney may designate the case as one in which the juvenile is to be tried in the same manner as an adult. For any other offense, the prosecutor may ask the court to designate the case, and the court may do so after a hearing if it determines that the best interests of the juvenile and the public would be served.^[9]

A designated case stays in the family division, but the proceedings are criminal proceedings with all the procedural protections of adult court. A guilty or no-contest plea or a guilty verdict results in a judgment of conviction that has the same effect and liabilities as one obtained in a court of general criminal jurisdiction.^[13]

What sentence can follow?

The answer depends on the route.

• Ordinary juvenile case: an order of disposition under the juvenile code.^[6]
• Designated case: the court may enter any juvenile disposition or, if it determines that the best interests of the public would be served, impose any sentence that could be imposed on an adult convicted of the offense. It may also delay imposing a sentence of imprisonment and place the juvenile on probation.^[14]
• Adult court, first-degree CSC: the court "shall sentence a juvenile convicted of" first-degree CSC "in the same manner as an adult."^[3]
• Adult court, other offenses: unless adult sentencing is required, the judge holds a hearing at sentencing to decide whether the public's best interests would be served by juvenile probation and commitment or by an adult sentence.^[3]

The adult penalty for first-degree CSC is imprisonment for life or any term of years.^[15] The 25-year mandatory minimum applies to an offense "committed by an individual 17 years of age or older against an individual less than 13 years of age."^[16] The life-without-parole provision is written for a violation committed by an individual 18 years of age or older who has a prior conviction for a listed CSC offense against a child under 13.^[17] A second or subsequent offense under the first-, second- or third-degree statutes carries a mandatory minimum of at least 5 years.^[18] See mandatory minimum sentences for CSC and the CSC penalties chart.

Does a juvenile have to register as a sex offender?

The registration act treats juvenile dispositions narrowly. An order of disposition counts as a "conviction" only if both of the following apply: the individual was 14 years of age or older at the time of the offense, and the order is for the commission of an offense that would classify the individual as a Tier III offender.^[4] The order must also be one that is open to the general public.^[4]

Tier III includes first-degree CSC, third-degree CSC and assault with intent to commit sexual penetration, as well as second-degree CSC against a child under 13.^[19] The Tier III definition has an exception where the court determines that the victim consented, was at least 13 but less than 16, and the individual is not more than 4 years older.^[20] That exception is covered in Michigan's "Romeo and Juliet" provisions.

A conviction in a designated case or in adult court is different. A designated-case conviction has the same effect and liabilities as an adult conviction.^[13]

The public website

A person registered solely because of one or more juvenile dispositions, in a case that was not designated for trial in the same manner as an adult, is kept off the public internet website.^[5]

Getting off the registry

Two petition routes are specific to juveniles. A court must grant a petition where the petitioner was adjudicated as a juvenile and was less than 14 years of age at the time of the offense.^[21] And a Tier III registrant whose registration is based on a juvenile order of disposition may petition once 25 or more years have elapsed since adjudication or release from confinement, if the other statutory conditions are met.^[22]

The registry rules for juveniles are covered in depth in juveniles and the sex offender registry, and the petition process in petitioning to be removed from the registry.

Federal registration law has a parallel limit: a juvenile adjudication counts only if the juvenile was 14 or older and the offense was comparable to or more severe than aggravated sexual abuse.^[23]

What happens at school?

When an individual who is a student at a public school offering any grade from developmental kindergarten through 12 is convicted of or adjudicated for first-, second-, third- or fourth-degree CSC or assault with intent to commit CSC, the court must order that the individual is prohibited from attending the same school building that is attended by the victim, and from using a school bus if he or she will have contact with the victim on it.^[24]

School discipline is a separate system with its own rules, including mandatory permanent expulsion in some circumstances.^[25] See K-12 school discipline for sexual misconduct. Image-based allegations among teenagers are covered in teen sexting laws.

Are juvenile hearings and records private?

On motion of a party or a victim, the family division may close a hearing to members of the general public during the testimony of a juvenile witness or the victim, if it finds that closing the hearing is necessary to protect that person's welfare.^[26] The statute's definition of "juvenile witness" for that purpose does not include the juvenile against whom the proceeding is brought.^[26]

The rules on public access to juvenile court files were not read for this guide and are not described here.

Can a juvenile adjudication be set aside?

An adjudication for an offense that would be a felony punishable by life if committed by an adult cannot be set aside under the juvenile set-aside statute.^[27] First-degree CSC is punishable by life or any term of years.^[15] A conviction in a designated case also cannot be set aside under that statute, although the statute says this does not prevent it from being set aside as otherwise provided by law.^[28]

For other adjudications, a person with not more than one felony-level juvenile offense and not more than three juvenile offenses in total, and no felony convictions, may apply, but not until 1 year after the termination of the court's jurisdiction.^[28] Adult convictions follow different and stricter rules, described in setting aside a sex-offense conviction.

What people get wrong

• "Juveniles are never put on the registry." A disposition for a Tier III offense committed at 14 or older can count as a conviction under the registration act.^[4]
• "Any juvenile sex case can go straight to adult court." The prosecutor's direct-charging power applies to specified juvenile violations, and first-degree CSC is the only CSC statute in that list.^[1][2]
• "Seventeen-year-olds are adults in Michigan criminal court." The family division's jurisdiction covers juveniles under 18.^[1]
• "If both were teenagers, no one can be charged." The age-based third-degree CSC provision has no minimum age for the accused and no age-gap requirement.^[7]

Young adults aged 18 through 25 are covered by a different statute; see HYTA and sex offenses. Families looking for a starting point can read when a family member is accused of a sex offense.