Juvenile Defense
Juvenile Crimes Defense Lawyer
Defending Against Juvenile Offenses in the Inland Empire
Facing the prospect of your child being detained by the police due to a criminal offense is a harrowing experience that no parent should have to endure. A whirlwind of emotions may engulf you – fear for your child’s safety, guilt for feeling like you’ve failed as a parent, and the overwhelming confusion about the intricacies of the juvenile criminal justice system.
When your child is entangled in legal issues, it’s vital you seek immediate aid from an experienced defense attorney who understands the unique nuances of California’s Juvenile Justice System.
In California, the juvenile and adult justice systems are distinct. The gravity of the offense committed often determines whether your child is held in custody, or merely receives a warning and is released to your care.
However, if the offense is severe enough to warrant a referral to the juvenile court, an intake officer will decide how to proceed, considering options including dismissal, informal resolution, or filing a formal petition.
Achieving an informal resolution is always preferable: this could mean a stern lecture, mandatory counseling or community service, restitution payment, or probation. These outcomes save your child from the complexities of a formal adjudication in juvenile court.
But when an offense is grave enough to incite a formal petition, your child will need the best defense attorney by their side. Following a formal petition, the court will decide whether to keep the case within the juvenile court or escalate it to an adult court.
Our job as your defense team is to vehemently argue for the case to remain within the juvenile court system to potentially lessen the seriousness of the consequences. From this point, it’s possible that your child may enter a plea agreement in exchange for reduced charges. If this isn’t possible, the case may proceed to a trial or ‘adjudication.’
Post-conviction, the court’s ‘disposition’ or equivalent of an adult court’s sentencing can range from periodic court monitoring to placement in a juvenile group home or even the juvenile division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
