Juvenile court lacks jurisdiction over individuals at least 16 years of age committing certain felonies; retention and transfer of jurisdiction by court having adult criminal jurisdiction; criminal court jurisdiction over adult charged with offense committed as a child
Ind. Code § 31-30-1-4
in effectSec. 4. (a) The juvenile court does not have jurisdiction over an individual for an alleged violation of:
(1) IC 35-41-5-1(a) (attempted murder);
(2) IC 35-42-1-1 (murder);
(3) IC 35-42-3-2 (kidnapping);
(4) IC 35-42-4-1 (rape);
(5) IC 35-42-4-2 (criminal deviate conduct) (before its repeal);
(6) IC 35-42-5-1 (robbery) if:
(A) the robbery was committed while armed with a deadly weapon; or
(B) the robbery results in bodily injury or serious bodily injury;
(7) IC 35-42-5-2 (carjacking) (before its repeal);
(8) IC 35-47-10 (children and firearms), if charged as a felony, unless:
(A) the child is charged with a felony under IC 35-47-10-5(a)(1) and not any other provision under IC 35-47-10;
(B) the felony charged under IC 35-47-10-5(a)(1) is the only felony charge pending against the child;
(C) the child has not more than one (1) prior conviction or adjudication under IC 35-47-10-5 or IC 35-47-2-1.5; and
(D) if the child has a prior conviction under IC 35-47-10-5 or IC 35-47-2-1.5, the conviction is a misdemeanor; or
(9) any offense that may be joined under IC 35-34-1-9(a)(2) with any crime listed in this subsection;
if the individual was at least sixteen (16) years of age but less than eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the alleged violation.
(b) Once an individual described in subsection (a) has been charged with any offense listed in subsection (a), the court having adult criminal jurisdiction shall retain jurisdiction over the case if the individual pleads guilty to or is convicted of any offense listed in subsection (a)(1) through (a)(8).
(c) If:
(1) an individual described in subsection (a) is charged with one (1) or more offenses listed in subsection (a);
(2) all the charges under subsection (a)(1) through (a)(8) resulted in an acquittal or were dismissed; and
(3) the individual pleads guilty to or is convicted of any offense other than an offense listed in subsection (a)(1) through (a)(8);
the court having adult criminal jurisdiction may withhold judgment and transfer jurisdiction to the juvenile court for adjudication and disposition. In determining whether to transfer jurisdiction to the juvenile court for adjudication and disposition, the court having adult criminal jurisdiction shall consider whether there are appropriate services available in the juvenile justice system, whether the child is amenable to rehabilitation under the juvenile justice system, and whether it is in the best interests of the safety and welfare of the community that the child be transferred to juvenile court. All orders concerning release conditions remain in effect until a juvenile court detention hearing, which must be held not later than forty-eight (48) hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after the order of transfer of jurisdiction.
(d) A court having adult criminal jurisdiction, and not a juvenile court, has jurisdiction over a person who is at least twenty-one (21) years of age for an alleged offense:
(1) committed while the person was a child; and
(2) that could have been waived under IC 31-30-3.
This subsection applies to a criminal proceeding for an alleged offense regardless of whether the offense was committed before, on, or after July 1, 2023, or the juvenile becomes twenty-one (21) years of age before, on, or after July 1, 2023.
[Pre-1997 Recodification Citation: 31-6-2-1.1(d).]
As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.13. Amended by P.L.17-2001, SEC.7; P.L.151-2006, SEC.12; P.L.216-2007, SEC.35; P.L.67-2008, SEC.2; P.L.158-2013, SEC.315; P.L.214-2013, SEC.25; P.L.168-2014, SEC.40; P.L.84-2015, SEC.1; P.L.28-2016, SEC.1; P.L.175-2022, SEC.4; P.L.115-2023, SEC.7; P.L.148-2024, SEC.15; P.L.218-2025, SEC.7; P.L.158-2026, SEC.25.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/31Fetched: 10/17/2026