Summerville Juvenile Criminal Defense Lawyer

Why Fight Your Juvenile Charges?

Your child’s experience with the juvenile criminal justice system can have a long-lasting impact on the rest of their life.

Why?

• They need to know that someone cares and someone is willing to stand up for them and fight for them.
• While some juvenile cases result in prison time, probation, and other “punitive” measures, there are sometimes other alternatives that can help your child to learn and grow from the experience.
• Although juvenile adjudications of delinquency should not affect your child once they become an adult, it may appear on background checks and can affect future interactions with the police or the courts.
• Consider the difference it could make on your child’s future development and self-view if your child is 1) required to do community service and write an essay about what they did and why it was wrong, or 2) locked in a juvenile detention facility with other children who have been adjudicated delinquent.
  Although we cannot guarantee results in any case, we understand the importance of juvenile criminal justice proceedings and the impact that they can have on a child or teenager at a critical time in their development.

We Can Help You With:

• Juvenile detention and probable cause hearings – getting your child home,
• Investigating your child’s case and preparing a defense for negotiations and a possible trial,
• Adjudication hearings, sentencing hearings, and preparing you for home or in-custody evaluations of your child, and
• Finding the best possible outcome that is in your child’s best interests.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do background checks show juvenile records?

Although juvenile records are confidential, they may appear on a background check if they have not been sealed or expunged.

Can juveniles be charged with felonies?

Juveniles can be accused of committing misdemeanor or felony offenses, but the distinction is not relevant. If they are “convicted,” it is technically not a criminal conviction. They are “adjudicated delinquent” and any consequences that are imposed should be in the best interest of the child.

When do juveniles get charged as adults?

A juvenile who is 17 years old or older will automatically be charged in General Sessions Court (adult court) if they are charged with a Class A, B, C, or D felony or if their charges carry a potential penalty of 15 years or more (burglary first degree, armed robbery, or murder, for example).
Although they are initially charged in General Sessions Court, we may be able to get your child’s case “remanded” to the family court.

Why do I need an attorney to represent my child?

Your child is required to have an attorney if they are charged with a crime. It is in your child’s best interest to retain a juvenile criminal defense attorney with extensive experience in the family courts, but, if you do not retain an attorney, the court will appoint a public defender to represent them.

How long can they keep my child in jail?

When a juvenile is charged with a crime, they should be immediately released to their parent or guardian’s custody unless the police think that they are a danger to themselves or to the community.

When they are not released, they must be held at a detention center for juveniles for no more than 48 hours before a detention and probable cause hearing. If the court does not release your child at the first hearing, they must hold a second detention hearing within ten days.