Q: What is the top age a child can be consider as a juvenile?
A: The answer depends on the offense. In general, persons charged with misdemeanors in Illinois are juveniles until the age of 18 and those charged with felonies until the age of 17. However, and it is a big however, 15 and 16 year olds facing certain felony charges are automatically charged as adults per statute. Moreover, the Juvenile Court Act provides that in certain circumstances, a prosecutor can file a petition and, after a hearing, the Court may decide to transfer a juvenile to adult court. It is very important that juveniles facing charges are represented by experienced counsel to help them navigate the juvenile and/or adult systems.
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