                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

POWER OF CIRCUIT COURT OVER JUVENILE OFFENDER (§ 16.1-272)

A. In any case in which a juvenile is indicted, the offense for which he is
indicted and all ancillary charges shall be tried in the same manner as provided
for in the trial of adults, except as otherwise provided with regard to
sentencing. Upon a finding of guilty of any charge, the court shall fix the
sentence without the intervention of a jury. Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to require a court to review the results of an investigation completed
pursuant to § 16.1-273.

   1. If a juvenile is convicted of a violent juvenile felony, for that offense
   and for all ancillary crimes the court may order that (i) the juvenile serve a
   portion of the sentence as a serious juvenile offender under &#xA7; 16.1-285.1
   and the remainder of such sentence in the same manner as provided for adults;
   (ii) the juvenile serve the entire sentence in the same manner as provided for
   adults; or (iii) the portion of the sentence to be served in the same manner
   as provided for adults be suspended conditioned upon successful completion of
   such terms and conditions as may be imposed in a juvenile court upon
   disposition of a delinquency case including, but not limited to, commitment
   under subdivision A 14 of &#xA7; 16.1-278.8 or &#xA7; 16.1-285.1.

   2. If the juvenile is convicted of any other felony, the court may sentence or
   commit the juvenile offender in accordance with the criminal laws of this
   Commonwealth or may in its discretion deal with the juvenile in the manner
   prescribed in this chapter for the hearing and disposition of cases in the
   juvenile court, including, but not limited to, commitment under &#xA7;
   16.1-285.1 or may in its discretion impose an adult sentence and suspend the
   sentence conditioned upon successful completion of such terms and conditions
   as may be imposed in a juvenile court upon disposition of a delinquency case.

   3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the juvenile is convicted of
   any felony, the court may in its discretion depart from any mandatory minimum
   sentence required by law or suspend any portion of an otherwise applicable
   sentence.

   4. If the juvenile is not convicted of a felony but is convicted of a
   misdemeanor, the court shall deal with the juvenile in the manner prescribed
   by law for the disposition of a delinquency case in the juvenile court.

   5. If the court, at any time prior to the final order in the case or within 21
   days of such order, receives evidence that the juvenile was a victim of
   felonious criminal sexual assault in violation of Article 7 (&#xA7; 18.2-61 et
   seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2 or trafficking in violation of Article 3
   (&#xA7; 18.2-344 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 18.2 by the victim prior to or
   during the commission of the offense for which the juvenile was convicted and
   that such offense was a direct result of the juvenile being a victim of such
   felonious criminal sexual assault or trafficking, the court may set aside the
   guilty verdict, render the juvenile delinquent, and impose a disposition
   consistent with &#xA7; 16.1-278.8.

B. If the circuit court decides to deal with the juvenile in the same manner as
a case in the juvenile court and places the juvenile on probation, the juvenile
may be supervised by a juvenile probation officer.

C. Whether the court sentences and commits the juvenile as a juvenile under this
chapter or under the criminal law, in cases where the juvenile is convicted of a
felony in violation of &#xA7; 18.2-61, 18.2-63, 18.2-64.1, 18.2-67.1, 18.2-67.2,
18.2-67.3, 18.2-67.5, 18.2-370 or 18.2-370.1 or, where the victim is a minor or
is physically helpless or mentally incapacitated as defined in &#xA7;
18.2-67.10, subsection B of &#xA7; 18.2-361 or subsection B of &#xA7; 18.2-366,
the clerk shall make the report required by &#xA7; 19.2-390 to the Sex Offender
and Crimes Against Minors Registry established pursuant to Chapter 9 (&#xA7;
9.1-900 et seq.) of Title 9.1.

D. In any case in which a juvenile is not sentenced as a juvenile under this
chapter, the court shall, in addition to considering any other factor and prior
to imposing a sentence, consider (i) the juvenile&#8217;s exposure to adverse
childhood experiences, early childhood trauma, or any child welfare agency and
(ii) the differences between juvenile and adult offenders.

E. A juvenile sentenced pursuant to clause (i) of subdivision A 1 shall be
eligible to earn sentence credits in the manner prescribed by &#xA7; 53.1-202.2
for the portion of the sentence served as a serious juvenile offender under
&#xA7; 16.1-285.1.

F. If the court sentences the juvenile as a juvenile under this chapter, the
clerk shall provide a copy of the court&#8217;s final order or judgment to the
court service unit in the same locality as the juvenile court to which the case
had been transferred.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 16.1-177; 1956, c. 555; 1977, c. 559; 1994, c. 362; 1996,
cc. 755, 914; 2000, c. 793; 2002, c. 511; 2003, c. 584; 2005, c. 590; 2007, c.
460; 2008, c. 517; 2014, cc. 20, 249; 2020, c. 396; 2024, c. 365.