Question: What is the time frame of being prosecuted on felonies, juvenile courts?
Answer: Generally, felonies must be filed or prosecuted within seven (7) years of being committed or reported to the police. That is called the Statute of Limitations. However, there are some crimes such as murder that do not have a statute of limitations.
In Arizona, the Juvenile Court has jurisdiction over a kid until he or she turns 18; once you turn 18, your done in Juvenile Court - regardless of the status of your juvenile court case. (Some states keep kids in juvenile court until they are 21, if the crime was committed before they were 18). But, in Arizona, that does not mean that once you turn 18 you cannot be prosecuted for something you did before you were 18. The prosecutor can wait until after you turn 18 to file charges in adult court, even if you committed the crime before you were 18.
Sometimes, the prosecutor will wait until after you turn 18 to file the charges if you are close to being 18, because once you turn 18 the Juvenile Court loses jurisdiction over you - meaning the Juvenile Court can't doing anything to you or for you after you turn 18. If you are close to being 18 at the time you are arrested, there will not be time to provide services or consequences or even get through all the hearings in Juvenile Court before you turn 18.
The same statute of limitations apply in Juvenile Court as in adult court.
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