Our office has several options for handling juvenile offenders. In the most severe cases where the juvenile is at least fourteen years old, the State can petition the court to certify the offender to stand trial as an adult. In such cases, the accused would face the same punishment as an adult offender, with the exception of the death penalty.

For other violent offenders and for habitual felony offenders the State may seek a "determinate sentence." Under this sentencing scheme, for the more serious offenses, a juvenile could face up to a maximum of forty years confinement in the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) with a possible transfer to the adult prison system prior to reaching age nineteen. Juvenile offenders who are transferred from TYC to the adult prison system would be required to serve the remainder of their sentence in adult prison.

For the least serious offenses, a juvenile offender faces the possibility of being placed on probation or being committed to TYC for an “indeterminate” period of time. These offenders cannot be transferred to the adult criminal justice system. For an offender who receives probation, the term of probation must end on or before he or she reaches age eighteen. If the offender receives an indeterminate commitment to TYC, he or she must be discharged on or before reaching age nineteen.

In 2008 the Juvenile Section of the District Attorney’s Office handled 3,519 referrals for misconduct and criminal law violations committed by juveniles. This figure includes violations of probation and crimes ranging from misdemeanors to capital murder.