For juvenile crimes, such as truancy or theft, it is likely that your child will go through the juvenile court system. During those proceedings, your child will need representation. Our law firm takes Utah’s focus on rehabilitating children instead of punishing them to heart. We work with you and your child to steer your child toward getting the help necessary to learn to overcome the negative choices that got them into this predicament.
We understand that facing criminal charges is scary for juveniles and their parents. We can use our experience to help explain things in a way that is as easy to understand as possible. For example, some parents might not realize that juveniles in Utah don’t have to face a jury. Instead, the juvenile will stand before a judge for a bench trial.
Instead of expecting a juvenile to go through these proceedings alone, a team approach is usually possible. This means that as a team, we can help your child to understand what choices led to this point while working to come up with a plan to help them learn from the mistake. The juvenile justice system can be complex simply because of having to take each child’s maturity level into account. Knowing how to apply laws to each case can help to take some of the stress out of the juvenile proceedings. To learn more, please visit our juvenile crimes overview web page.
Source: Susanne Gustin, Attorney at Law, “Caring Defense for Juveniles in Salt Lake City” Sep. 04, 2014