Felony offenses are serious, even if committed by juveniles. They carry dire consequences, such as:
- Detention
- Counseling
- Heavy fines and fees
- Psychologically evaluation
- Anger management programs
- Loss of driving privileges
- Residing in a foster home
Here are a few mistakes that you should make sure your as well as your accused child avoids that could make your child’s case weak:
- Do not assume that all evidence that has been recorded against your child is not prone to any error. Each piece of evidence should be reviewed properly in order to determine whether there are any leaks or errors in the recorded pieces of evidence. A professional juvenile criminal defense attorney can take care of such things as he is well-trained and experienced in doing such things.
- Letting any police officer speak to your child will only result in further troubles. A police officer or an investigating officer might even get your innocent child to admit to crimes that he hasn’t actually committed. Do not let your child speak to anyone without the presence of you or your defense attorney or both. Make him understand the bad consequences if he speaks with them without your or your attorney’s presence. Further, make him understand that he has the right to remain silent on any misleading or ambiguous or confusing questions asked by any of the officers at any point in time. In such a case, he should politely request the presence of the attorney or you or both.
- There could be instances when your child’t school disciplinary proceedings could get extremely unfair, to a point that it can become threatening or fearful or abusive to your child. In such a case, you need not be afraid of your child’s school, neither should you support any such behaviors of the school. Immediately seek the help of your defense attorney, he will assist you well in such scenarios.
- If your child is accused of a felony offense, chances are that he might get arrested and put in jail. In such a scenario, you shouldn’t let everything just go with the flow and rather, seek the temporary release of your child by filing a bail plea. For this, you would be required to submit a number of documents, all of which your defense attorney can handle well.
- Do not make the mistake of hiring the most expensive defense attorney, thinking of him as the most skilled one. The things that you should consider while hiring a defense attorney include their policies, communication style, experience, skills, testimonials, etc.
Hiring the least expensive defense attorney would also be a mistake that you shouldn’t make. The least expensive attorney would definitely not be the one that will prove to be the most economical. The least expensive defense attorney or the ones that charge too low do not handle serious felony charges and often do not take things seriously since they mostly handle misdemeanor charges.