In the Int. of: W.A.M. Appeal of: W.A.M., 444 MDA 2016

In April 2012, when he was 17, W.A.M. allegedly indecently assaulted a 6-year-old while babysitting (victim described attempted genital contact and that she told him to stop).
Police interviewed the victim on October 23, 2014. A written allegation and delinquency petition were filed October 5, 2015.
Adjudication hearing ultimately occurred February 23, 2016, at which W.A.M. was 21 years old; juvenile court adjudicated him delinquent under 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3126(a)(7).
Both parties filed continuance motions that delayed the adjudication past W.A.M.’s 21st birthday (December 25, 2015); no dispositional hearing was held.
The Commonwealth did not seek to try W.A.M. as an adult; the record contains no evidence of improper delay by the juvenile.
The Superior Court vacated the delinquency adjudication because the juvenile court lacked jurisdiction once W.A.M. turned 21.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether juvenile court retained jurisdiction to adjudicate delinquency after respondent turned 21	Commonwealth proceeded in juvenile court, arguing underlying offense occurred when juvenile	W.A.M. argued juvenile court lacked jurisdiction once he turned 21 before adjudication	Juvenile court lacked jurisdiction once respondent reached 21; adjudication vacated
Whether continuances justified adjudication after 21	Commonwealth did not contend for adult prosecution; no improper motive shown for delay	Defense noted continuances pushed hearing past 21st birthday, divesting jurisdiction	Unopposed continuances that resulted in hearing after 21 extinguished juvenile jurisdiction
Whether case required dispositional proceedings under juvenile rules	Commonwealth proceeded only to adjudication and ordered fingerprint/DNA; no disposition held	Defense implied procedural defects from lack of disposition and jurisdictional defect	Because court lacked jurisdiction at adjudication, no disposition could proceed; adjudication vacated
Whether appellant could be charged as an adult instead	Commonwealth did not attempt to convert the case to adult prosecution	Defense relied on statutory juvenile definition tied to age at time of proceedings	Court treated conversion issue as not pursued and vacated juvenile adjudication for lack of jurisdiction

Commonwealth v. Monaco, 869 A.2d 1026 (Pa. Super. 2005) (juvenile court loses jurisdiction when the subject reaches 21; cannot be treated as a child for delinquency proceedings once over 21)
Commonwealth v. Anderson, 630 A.2d 47 (Pa. Super. 1993) (a defendant apprehended after age 21 is not within Juvenile Act; delay can forfeit juvenile protections absent improper motive)
Commonwealth v. Burks, 102 A.3d 497 (Pa. Super. 2014) (appellate courts may raise jurisdictional defects sua sponte)