- Has your child been detained by a school resource officer or the police?
- Has Juvenile Services contacted you asking about your child?
- Is your child still in detention?
If so, then you, like many, may feel confused by the process, concerned about your child’s future, and worried about what impact the outcome of the case will have on you, your child, and your family.
You are right to be concerned, but you are not alone. I can help.
I understand that, in many cases, the incident that lead to the police taking your child to juvenile detention, is one piece of a larger picture. This picture is often ignored by schools and unknown to police, prosecutors, and the juvenile judge. Yet this bigger picture is often crucial to making sure that all those involved in the juvenile justice system understand your child and what is best for them in the long run.
Let me help.
Why JOHN C. PREZAS?
I have the experience necessary to help guide you and your child through the juvenile system. I understand the tactics and methods the prosecutors will try to use against your child because I once was a Juvenile Prosecutor in Williamson County, Texas, handling cases just like the ones now brought against your child.
As a Harvard Law School graduate and experienced criminal defense attorney, I am well positioned to protect all of your child’s rights and defend him/her from the vast power of the State.
Prior to law school, I was a teacher serving children with special needs or learning difficulties in Corpus Christi Independent School District and Tuloso Midway Independent School District. I understand that sometimes children use behavioral outbursts to hide embarrassment or frustration with difficulty in school or with peers. Children sometimes act out to draw attention away from the real problem because they are afraid of what others will think.
I also understand that youth in junior high and high school are going through a difficult, and often troubling, period in their development. I have taught youth in these settings and appreciate the importance of communicating with them, building trust, and seeking to understand the emotions behind the behavior.
I believe this understanding is crucial to quality representation. Only by trying to connect with and understand the juvenile client can a skilled juvenile lawyer seek the best possible resolution of the case.
WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JUVENILE LAW AND THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM?
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This article includes important information about juvenile crime and your child’s rights. |
JUVENILE CRIME FAQ
- Do I need a lawyer to handle a juvenile case?
Absolutely. You should never attempt to handle your child’s juvenile case yourself. The process may appear informal and administrative in many ways, but the advice of a good juvenile lawyer is crucial. There are many procedures, policies, and processes that will make little sense to anyone not knowledgeable about the law and the local juvenile justice system. It makes as much sense to handle the case of a juvenile accused yourself as it does to remove your child’s appendix yourself. It’s just a bad idea.
- Why should I hire a juvenile lawyer? Won’t any criminal or civil lawyer do?
In the same way you would not ask a brain surgeon to diagnose your heart condition, or ask the emergency room doctor to write you a prescription for glasses, so too should you not ask a general lawyer or even a criminal lawyer who lacks an in depth knowledge of the Juvenile Justice System, to handle the case of a juvenile accused. The Juvenile Justice System has its own technical terms, procedures, policies, and practices that are significantly different from both criminal and civil law. The system is quasi-civil–combining elements of civil law with elements of criminal law and creating a few new procedures of its own. To stand a chance of a good outcome in the Juvenile Justice System, you need a skilled, knowledgeable juvenile defense attorney helping your child find his/her way through the confusion.
- At what age can my child be charged with a crime as a juvenile?
As early as 10 years old and as late as 16 years old. No child younger than 10 years old can be charged with any crime in Texas. Once a child reaches 17 years of age, they are treated as an adult for all purposes by the Criminal Justice System.
- When can my child be arrested?
As with an adult, a juvenile may be detained by the police immediately, during an investigation, or after an investigation via the juvenile equivalent of an arrest warrant, called a Directive to Apprehend. Special legal rules and procedures apply to how a police officer or other person acting on an officer’s direction may make an arrest of a juvenile. Seek the advice of an experienced juvenile defense lawyer to determine whether your child’s arrest was done lawfully and correctly, and if not, what can be done about it.
- How long can my child be held?
Once a juvenile is detained and taken to the local juvenile detention center, or other facility meeting the requirements of the juvenile justice code, the juvenile probation officers (often along with the prosecutors) will either release them to their parents as soon as the parents can come get them, or hold them. If the juvenile is held, the law requires a hearing, called a detention hearing, within 48 hours where a juvenile judge must decide whether or not the state can prove legal grounds to continue holding or detaining the juvenile. If the judge does keep the juvenile, the juvenile is entitled to a new detention hearing on a regular basis.
This hearing is the only way to obtain a juvenile’s release from the detention facility since the bail process used for adults does not apply to a juvenile in the Juvenile Justice System
- What is a Detention Hearing and How Does it Work?
A Detention Hearing is a hearing in front of the Juvenile Judge where the State must prove at least one of the five legal grounds upon which the judge may continue to detain and hold the juvenile. This hearing is not the time to contest whether or not the juvenile committed the crime or conduct of which he/she is accused. Rather this is just a time to contest the State’s ability to legally continue holding the juvenile in detention.
The five grounds upon which the Juvenile Judge can order a juvenile held in detention are:
- The juvenile is likely to flee or be removed from the jurisdiction of the court
- The juvenile’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian is not providing suitable care, protection, or supervision (many Juvenile Judges will make this finding even if such care and supervision is being provided but the juvenile is not responding to it).
- The juvenile does not have a guardian, parent, custodian, or other person able to return him to court when required
- The juvenile would be dangerous to himself or may threaten public safety if released
- The juvenile has been previously found to be a delinquent child or has previously been convicted of a jailable offense AND is likely to commit an offense if released.
There is no immediate method to appeal this ruling. However, even if the Juvenile Court orders the juvenile detained, the juvenile will be entitled to a new hearing within a relatively short period of time.
- Can the Police Question my Child?
Yes. If the police detain a juvenile and take him/her into custody, the police must comply with a complex set of legal procedures to obtain a legally useable interview. A knowledgeable juvenile defense attorney can advise you as to whether the police properly questioned your child in any particular case.
However, just as with adults, police can question a juvenile before they take him into custody and during a point where he/she is free to leave and refuse to answer questions at any time. If police question a juvenile in this manner there are far fewer restrictions in place to protect the juvenile.
Courts will take into account the circumstances and the juvenile’s age when deciding whether or not the juvenile was arrested, detained, in custody, or not in custody. That in turn helps decide which set of rules, laws, and rights apply.
This is a complex area of law that is constantly changing. To figure out whether or not the police properly questioned your child, call John C. Prezas today to discuss the juvenile law applicable to the particular facts of your child’s case.
- Can the School Search my Child’s locker or property?
Texas Courts have given school administrators broad authority to conduct searches of lockers and other places on school grounds. In many cases, school authorities do not need the same level of proof a police officer would need to search a juvenile. There are limits to the authority of school officials. The validity of a particular search depends greatly on the particular facts of the case. If your youth has been searched, call me now to discuss the applicable law and protect your child’s rights.
- What are possible outcomes of a juvenile case in Texas?
Generally, there are 7 possible outcomes for any juvenile case: handled administratively, supervisory caution, deferred prosecution, juvenile probation, TYC, and determinate sentencing, and certification as an adult. I provide below a brief overview of each of these possible resolutions. However, please keep in mind that each possible outcome contains a variety of possible conditions, subparts, and requirements that may apply. You should seek the advice of a skilled, experienced juvenile lawyer to best understand these outcomes.
1. Administrative Resolution
Here the Juvenile Probation department recommends steps the juvenile and/or the family of the juvenile must taken and then the case is closed with an administrative note. The State never files a petition alleging criminal charges and the juvenile never appears in juvenile court.
2. Supervisory Caution
This outcome may occur either administratively at the juvenile probation office level or after the juvenile is detained and appears before the juvenile Judge. Either way this outcome is basically a dismissal of the case and a warning to stay out of trouble.
3. Deferred Prosecution
This outcome is similar to supervisory caution but it comes with strings attached. The case is essentially put off for a period of time and the juvenile (and often the family) are given things to do. If the juvenile (and the family) completes all of the assigned tasks in the time given, the case is dismissed. If not, the prosecutor can refile the case.
4. Juvenile Probation
Here the juvenile court finds it true that the juvenile committed a crime or otherwise engaged in delinquent conduct. The court places the juvenile on a period of probation. This may include continued supervision in the home or may include placement outside of the home. The Juvenile Court may extend the probation if the juvenile messes up while being supervised. A major difference between adult and juvenile probation is that the unlike the defined period of years for an adult probation, a juvenile court may supervise a juvenile until the juvenile reaches a particular age (usually 18 or 21, depending on the circumstances)
5. Texas Youth Commission
If the Juvenile Court finds it true that the juvenile committed a felony, the juvenile court could sentence the juvenile to serve a period of time (up to his 18th birthday) in the Texas Youth Commission (also called TYC), the juvenile holding facility that most resembles adult prison.
6. Determinate Sentencing
This is a complex option that requires prosecutors to overcome several procedural hurdles. If the State meets all the requirements they can impose a determinate sentence on the juvenile. In that situation, the juvenile will serve time in TYC until his/her 18th birthday. At that time the juvenile (now adult) would be transferred to an adult prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.
7. Certification
This is in many cases, especially in Williamson County, Texas, the most severe outcome a juvenile accused can face. If the State meets the procedural requirements and wins a hearing seeking certification in front of the Juvenile Judge, the State can Certify the juvenile as an adult. If that happens, the case is transferred to the appropriate court for an adult accused of the same crime and the juvenile then will face the same prosecutors, same judge, same range of punishment, and otherwise be treated as an adult for all purposes by the criminal justice system.
