Title 18Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73

§5033 Custody prior to appearance before magistrate judge

Title 18 › Part PART IV— - CORRECTION OF YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS › Chapter CHAPTER 403— - JUVENILE DELINQUENCY › § 5033

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

When an officer arrests a juvenile, the officer must immediately tell the youth their rights in simple words. The officer must also notify the Attorney General and the parents, guardian, or custodian about the custody and alleged offense, and must take the juvenile before a magistrate judge promptly.

Full Legal Text

Title 18, §5033

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Whenever a juvenile is taken into custody for an alleged act of juvenile delinquency, the arresting officer shall immediately advise such juvenile of his legal rights, in language comprehensive to a juvenile, and shall immediately notify the Attorney General and the juvenile’s parents, guardian, or custodian of such custody. The arresting officer shall also notify the parents, guardian, or custodian of the rights of the juvenile and of the nature of the alleged offense. The juvenile shall be taken before a magistrate judge forthwith. In no event shall the juvenile be detained for longer than a reasonable period of time before being brought before a magistrate judge.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §§ 922, 923 (June 16, 1938, ch. 486, §§ 2, 3, 52 Stat. 765). This section consolidates said section 923, and the final sentence of said section 922, of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., with such changes of phraseology as were necessary to effect the consolidation. This revised section and section 5032 of this title were rewritten to make clear the legislative intent that a juvenile delinquency proceeding shall result in the adjudication of a status rather than the conviction of a crime. The other provisions of said section 922 are incorporated in section 5032 of this title.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1974—Pub. L. 93–415 amended section generally, substituting “Custody prior to appearance before magistrate”, for “Jurisdiction; written consent; jury trial precluded” in section catchline, and substituting provisions relating to advice of rights by arresting officer, notification of Attorney General, parents, guardian or custodian, and appearance before magistrate, for provisions relating to jurisdiction of district courts, jury, consent by juvenile, and apprisal of rights by Judge of District Court.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Words “magistrate judge” substituted for “magistrate” in catchline and wherever appearing in text pursuant to section 321 of Pub. L. 101–650, set out as a note under section 631 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

Repeals

Pub. L. 93–415, title V, § 503, Sept. 7, 1974, 88 Stat. 1135, cited as a credit to this section, was repealed by Pub. L. 115–385, title III, § 307, Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5152.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

18 U.S.C. § 5033

Title 18Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73