Juvenile Sentencing 101

The PAO often gets questions from concerned citizens who want to better understand our State's juvenile sentencing scheme.  In Washington, sanctions and sentences for juvenile crimes are determined by mandatory statutory guidelines.  Depending on the seriousness of the offense, most juvenile offenders face "local sanctions," which include 0-30 days of juvenile detention, up to 12 months of community supervision/probation, and up to 150 hours of community service.  All misdemeanor juvenile offenses, and some low-level, non-violent felonies, are eligible for local sanctions.

Juvenile offenders who are not eligible for local sanctions face detention at the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration facility (JRA).   The length of the detention period is based on a "grid" system that takes into account the seriousness of the crime and the juvenile offender's prior criminal history.

In calculating an offender's criminal history score, prior misdemeanor convictions count as one-quarter point and prior felony convictions count as one point.  Below are some examples of how this grid works:

• Juveniles convicted of a "Class B" felony (e.g. Residential Burglary, First-Degree Theft, Possession of a Stolen Firearm) and who have two criminal history points are subject to 15 to 36 weeks at JRA; juveniles convicted of a Class B felony and who have four or more criminal history points are subject to 52 to 65 weeks at JRA.

• Juveniles convicted of a "Class B+" felony (e.g. Second-Degree Robbery, Second-Degree Assault, Manslaughter) and who have no prior criminal history are subject to 15 to 36 weeks at JRA.   Their sentence can increase up to 103 to 129 weeks, depending on their criminal history points

• Juveniles convicted of the most serious felonies,  "Class A" or "A+", face anywhere from 103 weeks at JRA or detention up to the offender's 21st birthday, regardless of criminal history.   Juvenile jurisdiction for these cases ends when the offender turns 21.

Finally, the sentencing judge has the discretion to impose either a lesser or more severe sanction only if certain mitigating or aggravating criteria are present or if the judge determines that imposition of a standard range sentence would result in "manifest injustice."  To review the juvenile sentencing guidelines, click this link.

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