As a parent, you do the best you can to raise your children right. You teach them to follow the law, respect authority, and think of their future before they choose their words and actions. Even so, some youths today make the wrong decision and find themselves on the wrong side of the law.
When your child is charged with a crime, you may not know what is in store for them and how your child will be punished. Knowing about the possible crimes with which youths may be charged and the resulting punishments can help you choose the best legal counsel and assistance in advocating for your child.
Theft and Burglary
Shoplifting remains a common crime many kids are charged with today. They like the thrill of stealing things from stores and getting items without paying for them. Along with shoplifting, some youths are brazen enough to break into cars or homes to steal things.
When charged with stealing and shoplifting, it’s possible your child could be sentenced to juvenile detention. Kids who are charged with this crime are often sentenced to a year or more in a youth detention center. If your child is charged with this crime, you should immediately hire an attorney, who may able to get the sentenced reduced or waived.
Assault or Homicide
If your child hurts another person, whether it is another adolescent or an adult, he or she will likely face a significant punishment. These crimes are not punishable by monetary fines or community service. Many kids, even those who are not yet teenagers, are sentenced to jail for these serious crimes.
However, the severity of the punishment can be addressed better if you retain legal counsel immediately. Your child may serve a shorter sentence and then be paroled earlier if you have an attorney advocating for him or her in court.
Sexual Crimes
Many teens find themselves charged with rape and molestation for engaging in relationships with partners who are too young. There are kids as well who purposely molest or rape victims without being in a relationship with them. Regardless of the circumstances, if your child is charged with a sexual crime, they will face heavy scrutiny from the court.
If found guilty, they may be sentenced to jail or house arrest. Depending on the severity of the crime, your child may also be required to register as a sex offender. This crime can have devastating impacts on their future life. An attorney may be able to negotiate to shorten the time your youth must be on the offender’s list or whether that information should be accessible to the public.
How an Attorney Can Help
Regardless of the seriousness of the crime, employing and seeking the counsel of a local criminal defense attorney immediately would be advised. For example, if your child got arrested for shoplifting in a department store in Orlando then obtaining a list of criminal defense attorneys in Orlando, Florida experienced in theft would be ideal.
An attorney will negotiate the charges with the state and try to get the charges reduced or dropped, depending on the severity of the charge. A criminal defense attorney will also try to get the charges settled out of court.
You might not ever expect needing to hire an attorney for your child. However, your best efforts to raise your adolescent to be a law-abiding person might go awry if they do not make good choices. Rather than allow your child’s future jeopardized, you can be proactive and advocate for him or her in legal circumstances by knowing the common crimes with which youths are often charged with today and how these crimes are typically punished.
Legal writer Lisa Coleman encourages parents to communicate with their teens about common laws a teen might be tempted to break and the kinds of punishments that can be imposed if the laws are broken. Katz & Phillips, P.A., a firm of criminal defense attorneys in Orlando, Florida, is experienced in juvenile defense law and is able to represent a client who’s charged with a crime as a minor.
