What term describes the court's authority to hear and decide cases involving youths under 18, including charging, sentencing, adjudicating delinquent status, and committing to the Department of Juvenile Justice?

• A. Jurisdiction
• B. Juvenile adjudication
• C. Juvenile inmate
• D. Kickback or three-way mail

Answer: (A)

Jurisdiction is the court’s power to hear and decide cases involving youths under 18. In juvenile matters, this authority covers charging a youth with offenses, adjudicating delinquent status, imposing dispositions (sentencing), and committing the youth to the Department of Juvenile Justice for custody or treatment. This authority comes from state statutes that establish a separate juvenile court system with rules about which cases it handles and how they’re processed. The other terms don’t fit because they describe either a finding (adjudication), a person (juvenile inmate), or something unrelated (kickback or three-way mail).