Juvenile Prosecution

Juvenile Attorneys prosecute children under 18 years old for offenses they have committed within the County. This includes offenses ranging from petty offenses such as curfew violations to serious felony matters including murder. The juvenile attorneys receive police reports from the law enforcement agencies within the County and make decisions whether to send the juveniles to the diversion program or prosecute them in juvenile court.

Petty Offenses:
§ Juvenile petty offenses includes offenses that if committed by adults would not be considered a crime. These offenses typically include curfew and tobacco violations, alcohol possession and consumption, or possession of a small amount of marijuana.

 
Traffic:
§ A juvenile traffic offense includes all petty misdemeanors, misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors and felony traffic violations committed by juveniles who are under the age of 16. It also includes all traffic violations committed by juveniles who are 16 and 17 years old, except petty misdemeanor and DWI violations. Those cases are heard in adult court.

Delinquency:
§ A child is a juvenile delinquent if they have violated a state or local law that is not considered a juvenile petty offense.
§ Many delinquency offenses are diverted. However, if the juvenile doesn’t qualify for diversion or fails diversion the case will be heard in juvenile court. Once in juvenile court, a juvenile charged as a delinquent will be represented by a public defender because the possible consequences for admitting a delinquency charge can include placement out of the child’s home. A juvenile delinquent has the right to hire a private attorney to represent them in juvenile court.