In most states persons accused of violating the law before they are 18 years of age are under the jurisdiction of the juvenile courts, and persons accused of violating the law when they are 18 years of age or older are under the jurisdiction of the criminal courts. Some states begin prosecuting persons as adults in the criminal court system when they are 17 years of age, and some states begin prosecuting persons as adults in the criminal court system when they are 16 years of age.

But all states have transfer laws that permit or require criminal prosecution of some young offenders—even though they are still of juvenile age, as defined by the state’s laws. Transfer laws vary from state to state, but generally fall within three categories: (1) judicial waiver laws that allow juvenile courts to waive jurisdiction on a case-by-case basis; (2) prosecutorial discretion or concurrent jurisdiction laws that define a class of cases that may be brought in juvenile court or in criminal court—usually at the discretion of the prosecutor; and (3) statutory exclusion laws that grant criminal courts exclusive jurisdiction over certain classes of cases involving juvenile-age offenders.

The laws that govern when a person of juvenile age may be prosecuted as an adult in the criminal court system are generally located in a state’s statutes.

In North Carolina, the juvenile court system has jurisdiction over individuals who are accused of breaking the law before they turn 18 years old. However, North Carolina law also includes provisions for transferring certain juvenile cases to adult criminal court. These transfer laws are in line with the three general categories mentioned: judicial waiver, prosecutorial discretion, and statutory exclusion. Judicial waiver allows the juvenile court to waive its jurisdiction and transfer a case to adult court if the judge finds it appropriate based on the severity of the offense and other factors. Prosecutorial discretion laws permit prosecutors to decide whether to file certain cases against juveniles in adult court. Statutory exclusion laws in North Carolina automatically exclude certain serious offenses from juvenile court jurisdiction, meaning those cases are directly filed in the adult criminal system. The specific criteria and procedures for transferring juvenile cases to adult court are detailed in the North Carolina General Statutes.