There is no bail in juvenile court
Juvenile proceedings are not criminal prosecutions, and the bail schedule does not apply. Instead, the officer who takes a minor into temporary custody must decide whether to release the minor to a parent or guardian with a notice to appear, or to deliver the minor to a probation officer at juvenile hall. Probation then makes its own release decision.
The detention hearing
- If the minor stays detained, a petition must be filed and a detention hearing held promptly — within roughly 48 hours of being taken into custody, excluding non-judicial days.
- At that hearing the court decides whether continued detention is necessary, considering flight risk, danger, and the fitness of the home.
- Release is typically to a parent, sometimes with electronic monitoring, home supervision, or a curfew.
- There is no bond a family can post to override a detention order.
When a minor can be tried as an adult
Since Proposition 57 (2016), prosecutors can no longer file directly against a minor in adult court. A judge must hold a transfer hearing, and only minors 16 or older at the time of the offense — with a narrow exception for certain serious offenses alleged against 14- and 15-year-olds who were not apprehended before adulthood — can be transferred. If a case is transferred to adult court, the ordinary criminal bail process applies, and a bond becomes possible at that point.
What families should do in the meantime
- Contact the county probation department for the minor's status and detention hearing date.
- Retain counsel or confirm the public defender assignment before the detention hearing — it is the hearing that matters most.
- Assemble what the court will weigh: school enrollment, a stable adult at home, counseling or treatment availability.
- Attend. Judges notice which minors have family in the room.