Sometimes kids make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes can lead to a run-in with the law. You might be scared or concerned about your child’s future if they’ve recently been arrested. However, try not to panic just yet. Here are 5 things you need to know if you find yourself in this situation.
Children Have Rights, Too
Your child has certain inalienable rights. Just because they’re under the age of 18 doesn’t mean that their Constitutional rights can be ignored. Among other things:
- Police officers must have reasonable suspicion to believe your child broke the law
- There must be probable cause to search your child or their property
- Probable cause must exist before your child can be arrested or charged with a crime
- Your child has the right to remain silent, and
- Your child has the right to ask to have a parent or attorney called in.
If these rights are violated in any way, shape, or form, there’s a good chance that criminal charges against them cannot succeed.
States Have Systems in Place to Handle Juvenile Crimes
Again, kids make mistakes. They’re young and, often, make poor impulsive decisions. States appreciate this. That’s why most have juvenile criminal systems in place. When a child commits a crime, chances are they won’t be tried as an adult. Rather, their case will proceed in a juvenile system that’s designed to rehabilitate your child, rather than punish them.
Juvenile criminal proceedings are different from those arranged for adults. In fact, California’s juvenile system isn’t even a part of the criminal law system. It’s part of the civil system. California’s juvenile proceedings include:
Detention Hearing: determine if your child will be released to you or detained in a state juvenile facility.
Fitness Hearing: possible if your child committed a crime that warrants a transfer to adult criminal court. Note, not all children will have a fitness hearing, only those who are charged with severe offenses (e.g., murder, rape) or have a demonstrated history of juvenile delinquency.
Adjudication Hearing: juveniles in California do not get to try their case in front of a jury. Rather, a trial proceeds in front of a judge. This is the point in time when the prosecution and defense both argue their cases, present evidence, and question witnesses.
Disposition Hearing: one the judge has heard arguments, they will render a decision. There’s no guilty or not guilty. Rather, if a judge believes that your child committed the alleged crime, they will sustain the petition.
If the petition is sustained, the court will determine an appropriate penalty and continue to sentencing. If the judge determines that the state failed to meet its burden of proof, your child will be released back into your custody.
Penalties For Juvenile Crimes Are Aimed to Rehabilitate
A primary purpose of juvenile criminal systems is to help kids get back on track after they’ve made a mistake or two. Rehabilitation is the goal. So, if your child is convicted of a juvenile crime, the penalties will likely be customized to fit your child’s particular needs. A court will try to design penalties that help your child learn and grow, while also deterring similar conduct in the future.
Sentences for juvenile offenders often include:
- Fines
- Counseling
- Community service
- GPS or electronic monitoring, and
- Probation.
Depending on the circumstances, a court may also decide that incarceration is appropriate. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your child is going to spend time behind bars. Incarceration simply refers to a way to confine a child in a supervised manner. This might mean that your kid is on house arrest for a while. Or, it could mean that your child is placed in a juvenile detention center for a period of time. Options like secured juvenile facilities or adult jails or prisons are typically reserved for only the most serious juvenile offenders.
Juvenile Records Can Be Sealed
A criminal record can be devastating for anyone. When a child commits a crime, they shouldn't have to pay for that for the rest of their lives. That’s why most states - including California - allow juvenile offenders to petition to have their records sealed.
Sealing a record essentially means that all traces of their criminal proceedings. Things like arrest reports, fingerprints, mugshots, evidentiary exhibits, and judge’s rulings are, for all intents and purposes, destroyed.
Records aren’t sealed automatically. Your child will have to go through the motions of filing a petition to have their record sealed. They can do this as:
- They are 18
- They haven’t been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude as an adult, and
- Their juvenile offense wasn’t one that prohibits record sealing (e.g., murder).
After their juvenile record is sealed, your child can lawfully say that they’ve never been arrested, charged with a crime, or convicted. In fact, they can even deny having a sealed record.
It’s Important to Have an Attorney By Your Side
Now, don’t think that things will be easier just because your child is moving through the juvenile court system. The state will still work incredibly hard to get a conviction. Penalties, while traditionally geared toward rehabilitation, can still be tough on a child. There’s also nothing to say that prosecutors won’t try to go for the harshest penalties allowed under the law to make an example out of your child.
You can protect your child by calling an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as you can after they’re arrested. An attorney, particularly one who has experience navigating the juvenile justice system, can help you work toward securing the best possible outcome in your child’s case.
