Juvenile Felony Charges in Texas: Detention, Trial, and Sentencing

In Texas, juvenile felony charges are handled as a civil matter in juvenile court under Title 3 of the Family Code, not as an adult criminal case. The system applies to anyone who was at least 10 but younger than 17 when the alleged offense happened, and the possible outcomes stretch from supervised probation at home to a 40-year determinate sentence that can be transferred to adult prison. The felony classification, the child’s age, and whether prosecutors pursue certification or a determinate sentence all shape what happens next.

Who the Juvenile System Covers

A person qualifies as a “child” in juvenile court if they were at least 10 but not yet 17 at the time of the alleged conduct.¹ Children younger than 10 cannot be formally charged. Once a person turns 17, any new offense goes directly to the adult criminal system, no matter how minor. Texas has considered raising the cutoff to 18, but as of 2026 it remains 17.

Felony conduct falls under what the Family Code calls “delinquent conduct,” which is any act that would carry jail or prison time for an adult. That category is what opens the door to commitment in a state facility, determinate sentencing, and possible transfer to adult court.

The Right to a Lawyer, and When It Cannot Be Waived

Every child facing juvenile proceedings is entitled to an attorney at every stage, and if the family cannot afford one, the court must appoint counsel. Under Texas Family Code Section 51.10, the right cannot be waived at the hearings that matter most: adjudication, disposition, certification to adult court, modification of disposition where TJJD commitment is on the table, and mental health proceedings under Chapter 55.¹

Detention hearings are the one setting where waiver is routinely allowed. If the child was detained after a hearing held without counsel, an appointed lawyer can request a new detention hearing within 10 working days of being assigned, and that new hearing must take place within two working days of the request. Any appointed attorney also gets at least 10 days to prepare for an adjudication or certification hearing.

The 48-Hour Detention Rule

When a young person is taken into custody on a felony allegation, a judge or referee must find probable cause within 48 hours, weekends and holidays included, or the child has to be released.¹ The probable cause standard is lower than trial evidence; the judge can rely on any reasonably reliable information, even material that would be excluded under the Rules of Evidence later on.

A child held past 48 hours without that finding should be released, but families who don’t know the rule rarely raise it. If no lawyer was present at the first hearing, the do-over hearing described above gives the defense another chance to argue against continued confinement.

Adjudication: The Juvenile Trial

Adjudication is the juvenile equivalent of a trial. The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child committed the delinquent conduct alleged.² The child is presumed innocent, and the burden never shifts. Under Section 54.03, the child has a right to a jury trial, and any waiver has to follow the strict procedures in Section 51.09, which generally requires the attorney to join in.

If the judge or jury finds the allegations true, the court enters an adjudication order. If not, the case is dismissed with prejudice and cannot be refiled. An adjudication is not technically a “conviction,” but it can trigger longer commitments, affect future sentencing, and in some situations stay on the person’s record into adulthood.

Disposition: What the Court Can Order

After adjudication, the court holds a separate disposition hearing. Punishment is not automatic. The judge first has to determine that the child needs rehabilitation or that public safety requires a formal response, and only then chooses among the available options after reviewing a social history report and probation officer recommendations.²

Probation at home, with the child living with a parent or relative under conditions such as curfews, counseling, community service, or restitution.
Probation with placement in a foster home, residential treatment facility, or secure post-adjudication facility.
Commitment to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department for felony-level offenses where the court makes the required commitment finding. There is no fixed sentence; length of stay depends on offense severity and risk.
A determinate sentence, available only for specific serious offenses and only after grand jury approval, described below.

For a TJJD commitment without a determinate sentence, agency policy sets minimum stays by offense severity and individual risk level:³

High-severity offense: 15 to 24 months depending on assessed risk.
Moderate-severity offense: 12 to 15 months.
Low-severity offense: 9 to 12 months.

These are floors. A young person can be held past the minimum if programming is incomplete or safety concerns remain. By law, TJJD must transfer custody of a non-sentenced youth no later than the 19th birthday.⁴

The court’s authority reaches parents too. Under Section 54.041, a judge can order a parent to pay restitution for property damage, loss, or personal injury, and those payments can continue until the child turns 18 or finishes high school, whichever is later.¹

Intensive Supervision Probation

For children the court is not ready to commit to TJJD but who present a higher risk, many counties use intensive supervision probation. Reporting to a probation officer happens more often, unannounced home and school visits are part of the routine, and conditions include mandatory counseling and programming. The point is to keep the child out of a state facility while providing enough structure to address the conduct behind the charge.

Determinate Sentencing for Serious Offenses

Most juvenile dispositions end at 19. Determinate sentencing is the exception. Under Section 53.045, the prosecution can seek a fixed-length sentence for a specific list of violent and serious offenses, but only after presenting the case to a grand jury that certifies probable cause.⁵ This extra step exists because the sentence can extend far past the child’s 19th birthday.

Eligible offenses include capital murder, murder, manslaughter, aggravated kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, injury to a child or elderly person charged above the state jail felony level, felony deadly conduct involving a firearm, first-degree or aggravated controlled substance felonies, arson causing bodily injury or death, intoxication manslaughter, and inchoate offenses like criminal solicitation and conspiracy to commit any of the listed crimes. Habitual felony conduct also qualifies.⁵

Maximum lengths vary by felony degree:²

Capital felony, first-degree felony, or aggravated controlled substance felony: up to 40 years.
Second-degree felony: up to 20 years.
Third-degree felony: up to 10 years.

The Transfer Hearing Before the 19th Birthday

A child serving a determinate sentence starts out in a TJJD facility built around rehabilitation. As the person approaches 19, the juvenile court holds a transfer hearing to decide whether the remainder of the sentence will be served in adult prison. The hearing must occur before the 19th birthday, and the prosecution has to request it. There is no right to a jury at this stage.

The court looks at whether the person has been rehabilitated and whether community safety requires continued confinement. A transfer order sends the person to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to serve out the balance under adult prison conditions.⁴ If the court finds rehabilitation has taken hold, it can release the person on parole-like supervision or modify the terms. Institutional behavior and completed treatment carry real weight here; a record of disciplinary problems makes transfer far more likely.

Certification to Adult Court

Separate from determinate sentencing, a juvenile court can waive jurisdiction entirely and send a child to adult criminal court. This process, called certification, is governed by Section 54.02. Age thresholds depend on the charge:¹

Age 14 or older: capital felony, aggravated controlled substance felony, or first-degree felony.
Age 15 or older: second-degree felony, third-degree felony, or state jail felony.

Before ordering transfer, the judge must find probable cause and then weigh four factors: whether the offense was against a person or property (crimes against people weigh more heavily toward transfer); the sophistication and maturity of the child; the child’s prior record; and whether juvenile programs and facilities can adequately protect the public and rehabilitate the child. A diagnostic study and social evaluation are required before the hearing, and the child cannot waive counsel.

Once certified, the young person faces the same penalties as an adult, including lengthy prison sentences and a permanent public criminal record. Two constitutional limits still apply. Under Roper v. Simmons, the death penalty cannot be imposed on anyone who was under 18 at the time of the offense.⁶ Under Miller v. Alabama, mandatory life without parole for juvenile offenders violates the Eighth Amendment.⁷ A sentencing court can still impose life without parole in rare cases, but only after an individualized hearing that considers the child’s age and circumstances. It can never be automatic.

Sealing Records After a Juvenile Felony

Sealed juvenile records are treated as though the referral never happened. The person does not have to disclose them on employment, housing, or school applications.

Automatic sealing without an application is available to people who were referred for delinquent conduct but never adjudicated, or who were adjudicated only for a misdemeanor. The person must be at least 19, have no pending delinquent conduct matters, and have no adult felony convictions or pending adult charges.⁸

Felony adjudications do not qualify for automatic sealing. A person adjudicated for a felony has to file an application with the juvenile court and meet additional requirements: at least 17 years old (or at least one year past final discharge if younger than 17), no pending matters, no adult felony conviction, and no pending adult charges.⁸

Some records can never be sealed. Certification to adult court and a determinate sentence for any offense listed in Section 53.045 permanently rule sealing out. People committed to TJJD have to be fully discharged before applying. Anyone with a sex offender registration obligation is ineligible until that obligation expires. The most serious juvenile felony cases can follow a person for life, which is one more reason the decisions made at adjudication and disposition matter so much.

1
State of Texas. Texas Family Code – Chapter 54 – Judicial Proceedings
2
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 54.04 – Disposition Hearing
3
Texas Juvenile Justice Department. GAP.380.8525 – Minimum Length of Stay/Minimum Period of Confinement
4
Texas Juvenile Justice Department. GAP.380.8565 – Discharge of Sentenced Offenders upon Transfer to TDCJ or Expiration of Sentence
5
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 53.045 – Referral of Certain Serious Juvenile Offenses for Determinate Sentencing
6
Justia Supreme Court Center. Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005)
7
Justia Supreme Court Center. Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012)
8
Texas Juvenile Justice Department. Texas Family Code Chapter 58, Subchapter C – Sealing and Restricted Access to Juvenile Records