Juvenile court has jurisdiction over offenses committed by a child. A child being defined as being a person under the age of eighteen (18) at the time of the offense.
Traffic misdemeanors and petty offenses are not brought into juvenile court but remain in adult court in the Magistrate Division. Offenses that would be criminal if committed by an adult or delinquencies if committed by a person between ten and eighteen (18).
Additionally, a juvenile may be brought into court charged as a “child in need of supervision” (CHINS) for behavior which is not criminal but violates laws applying only to juveniles. Truancy, underage consumption, and running away from home are CHINS offenses. If a criminal offense is committed by a person under the age of ten, that child can be brought into court as a CHINS.