Utah Code » Title 76, Chapter 2 — Principles of Criminal Responsibility; part 76-2-3 — Defenses to Criminal Responsibility
Utah Code

Utah Code § 76-2-301 (2026)

Person under 14 years old not criminally responsible

✓ current as of May 2026
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A person is not criminally responsible for conduct performed before the person reaches 14 years old. This section shall in no way limit the jurisdiction of or proceedings before the juvenile courts of this state.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases, 1995–2019 · leading case: State v. Sanders, 2019 UT 25 (Utah 2019).
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State v. Sanders, 2019 UT 25 (Utah 2019). · cites it 4× “See Utah Code §§ 76-2-301 to -308; id. §§ 76-2-401 to -407.”
State v. Herrera, 1999 UT 64 (Utah 1999). · cites it 4× “¶ 55 Under Utah Code Ann. § 76-2-301 (1), it makes no difference how deranged a defendant's mind may be — whether caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, organic brain disease, medications, or some other cause — as to whether he may be criminally punished.”
State v. Herrera, 895 P.2d 359 (Utah 1995). · cites it 2× “Utah Code Ann. § 76-2-301 states, "A person is not criminally responsible for conduct performed before he reaches the age of fourteen years.”
Allstate Ins. v. Patterson, 904 F. Supp. 1270 (D. Utah 1995). · cites it 2× “” Utah Code Ann. § 76-2-301 (1990). Thus, there is a real question as to whether the criminal act exclusion even applies to a juvenile offender.”
State v. Martinez, 2000 UT App 320 (Utah Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 2× “See Utah Code Ann. § 76-2-301 (1999). Therefore, *123 unlike the crime of rape of a child, it is not clear that the Legislature intended the crime of unlawful sexual activity with a minor to be a strict liability offense.”
State v. Sellers, 2011 UT App 38 (Utah Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “[7] On remand, the parties may find the latest version of the Model Utah Jury Instructions to be a useful starting point for drafting an appropriate instruction on voluntary intoxication, see Model Utah Jury Instructions CR503 (2d ed. 2007), http://www.”
J.S. v. State, 292 P.3d 709 (Utah Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “claims that he lacks the ability to form the criminal intent required as an element of a destruction of property offense because he is under the age of fourteen and therefore cannot be held criminally responsible for his actions pursuant to Utah Code section 76-2-301.”
State v. Bess, 2019 UT 22 (Utah 2019). “§§ 76-2-301 to -307, or in their own section as do justification and self-defense, see id.”
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