Dealing With Juvenile Criminal Cases

by John Fostar Media Releation

For most people, familiarity with criminal law is rather vague. They pick up information in bits and pieces from movies, television, and crime stories.

But when criminal lawyers become personally involved in the real world criminal system, the story can be entirely different.

According to top Maryland criminal lawyers attorneys, one of the challenges lawyers face is the problem of the juvenile.

Juveniles carry out certain acts which if committed by adults will pass of as crime

At the very least, they are violations of law.

Every year we come to know of thousands of complaints of delinquency by youngsters.

What could be the underlying reason why teens commit crimes?

The causes are complex. There is no any doubt that hereditary and environmental factors play important roles in juvenile crimes. It is a community problem with large social ramifications.

Sociologists say lack of discipline is a major factor. This can stem from juveniles having no homes, broken homes, or the indifference of parents towards their children’s behavior.

A Largo Maryland criminal lawyer is of the view that juvenile delinquency follows a path similar to typical adolescent growth. Anti-social behavior can start in early childhood.

Whatever be the reason, families and communities have enough opportunities to intervene and preempt the onset of criminal behavior.

In any case whenever a juvenile commits a crime, the procedure followed is different from that used for adult offenders.

It must be borne in mind that all states have special juvenile court procedures for youngsters that get into trouble with the law.

Juveniles have due process rights that apply to them in delinquency cases.

Here is a summary of a few of them.

The police officers must have a probable cause to make a search

Probable cause is a norm by which judges assess arrests made without warrants, warrantless searches & search warrants.

According to top Maryland criminal lawyers attorneys, there exists probable cause if the facts support an unprejudiced belief that an individual has committed a crime.

But the challenge is how likely it must be that the delinquent has committed the crime.

However, in schools, officials may need only reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing rather than the probable cause to confine and search minors.

Minors have a right to a phone call

According to law, the individual must be allowed to make at least one phone call if they are detained and not likely to be released soon. The minor even has a right to contact an attorney directly.

A Largo Maryland criminal lawyer says that if the police decline the minor’s request for a phone call, anything the minor says to the police subsequently will not be admissible in juvenile court.

They have no right to bail

It must be borne in mind the juveniles do not have any constitutional rights to get bail, but they are released to their parents prior to indictment in a juvenile court.

They have a right to cross examine witnesses

Yes, it is true that juvenile hearing is not a formal criminal trial, but according to law a minor has a right to cross examine witnesses.

The charges must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt

The U.S. Supreme Court has clearly ruled that if a juvenile faces custody as a delinquent in the court proceedings then it is the responsibility of the state to prove the charges “beyond a reasonable doubt”.

A parent of any minor in trouble with the law must get in touch with a lawyer experienced in juvenile justice system.

Law Office of Rowena N. Nelson is among the top lawyer firms in Maryland. This Law Firm provides a wide range of legal services including in bankruptcy law, criminal law, and family law.