Does a minor have the capacity to commit a crime?

California law presumes children under 14 do not have the capacity to commit a crime. The provision in Penal Code section 26, paragraph One, " 'All persons are capable of committing crimes except those belonging to the following classes: [] One-Children under the age of 14, in the absence of clear proof that at the time of committing the act charged against them, they knew its wrongfulness,' " establishes a " 'presumption of a minor's incapacity.' " (People v. Lewis (2001) 26 Cal.4th 334, 378 (Lewis).)

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