Juvenile Division

The Juvenile Division, a component of the State's Attorney's Office's Circuit Court Division, prosecutes individuals under age 18 who commit criminal offenses but are too young to be charged as an adult. Assistant State's Attorneys in this Division handle more than 2,000 cases per year. While the State's Attorney's Office focuses on prosecuting juveniles, juvenile laws provide a program of treatment, training and rehabilitation for juvenile offenders, as opposed to criminal sanctions.

To that end, attorneys in the Juvenile Division work closely with the court, victims, families and social service agencies to ensure that the juvenile offender is not tainted by a criminal record and that the interest of the public is protected. In certain cases, due to the serious nature of the crime, a juvenile offender's case is sent directly to the adult court where adult penalties apply.