Juvenile Law
Very different problems face juveniles who are accused of committing crimes. First, Georgia Law defines a juvenile as anyone who has not reached his or her 17th birthday. While one is not an adult for most legal purposes until they are 18, the cutoff for going to adult court is the 17th Birthday.
If you or your child is under 17, however, and face criminal charges there are many pitfalls to avoid and hoops to jump through in order to place you or your child in the best position to defeat these charges or work out the best disposition possible.
It is any parent’s nightmare to receive a call in the middle of the night from a police officer. Once you make certain your child is unharmed, what next? Will you be allowed to pick up your child? Will he or she be held at the Youth Detention Center? The next few minutes will be crucial to whether your child comes home with you or not. The question of whether your child will be taken into custody or not depends on three significant factors: (1) the nature of the crime alleged. If the charge is a serious one, the child will be taken into custody and held until a juvenile judge can determine the appropriateness of further detention. If it’s not so serious, the officer may release the child to your custody, under certain circumstances. (2) The prior record of the child, and whether the child is currently under juvenile court supervision. (3) The attitude and conduct of the parents. Police officers have some discretion on whether to even charge certain offenses, and for the most part they exercise that discretion in favor of filing charges. However, in rare cases, officers can be persuaded to let it go. This depends in large part on how the parents conduct themselves on the phone and in person.
When you receive that call, first off, please do not panic. Once you make sure your child is unharmed, speak quietly and clearly to the officer (who is calling you from the scene, and likely has your child in handcuffs, probably in the back seat of the patrol car). Get as much information as you can regarding the nature of the offense alleged, the time and location and anything they need you to bring to the scene. Next, get dressed, gather any information the officer has requested, and proceed to the scene calmly and within the legal speed limit, careful not to violate any traffic laws. When you are conferring with officers ALWAYS remain calm, always cooperate, and never get combative or belligerent, as such could never help. Ask the officer if there is any way to avoid formal charges, or, in the alternative, release the child into your custody. If so, it’s critically important for you to keep calm and talk with the officer about how to avoid such future conduct. As a parent you must appear well involved in your child’s welfare, concerned about the aberration in their behavior, and more than prepared (without coming across as abusive) to take whatever corrective actions are necessary and recommended by police.
If the police are determined, however, to take your child into custody, its very unlikely you will be able to talk them out of it. If that happens, calmly and politely ask to speak with your child and let your child know that they should not speak to the police without consulting a lawyer first. At this point, while politeness continues, cooperation ends, and you should work to protect your rights and your child’s rights by keeping quiet and begin the business of hiring an attorney to help protect your child’s rights. Please contact this office as soon as possible to set up your free initial consultation.