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| WHAT CRITERIA IS RELIED UPON AT THE DETENTION HEARING? | JUVENILE COURT TRIAL / JUVENILE COURT ADJUDICATION |
| JUVENILE ARRAIGNMENT DATE |
San Diego Juvenile Courts are very different from San Diego Superior Court adult crime cases. When a juvenile commits a crime, he or she is alleged to be "delinquent" and the juvenile court gets involved to intervene and correct the delinquency .You need an experienced and skilled San Diego Juvenile Crime Defense Attorney.
In a Juvenile Court case, you need the top San Diego Juvenile Defense Attorneys. Depending on the severity of the crime, the juvenile may be placed in juvenile detention. Even truancy, or repeated absence from school, is a juvenile crime that carries consequences. Often, however, juvenile crimes arise as a result of challenges at school.
If we are retained as your personal San Diego Juvenile Defense Lawyer, we will fight to obtain special services for our student-client so he/she can succeed in school and positively affect the juvenile court case.
We begin by using the term "youthful offender" as opposed to juvenile delinquent when we refer to our client. We have available and can use a private investigator to assist in developing the juvenile court defense case. Additionally, we have access to and use a forensic psychologist as well as a neuropsychologist as expert witnesses. These are important tools we employ as your experienced and effective San Diego Juvenile Defense Attorneys.
Juvenile courts have separate rules and procedures from adult criminal courts . For example, juveniles are not entitled to a jury trial, but rather are tried before a judge. If a juvenile commits a more violent crime such as murder, the prosecutor may seek to have the juvenile tried as an adult. Because of the special rules and circumstances surrounding juvenile crimes, it is important to obtain private legal counsel.At Spital and Associates, our focus is on the "rehabilitation" and not punishment of our client.We hope you will select our San Diego Juvenile Crime Defense Attorneys.
If your child has been arrested, he or she can either be cited and released or detained at a juvenile detention facility. If your child is in custody, the District Attorney must file the petition within 48 hours of the time the minor is detained excluding weekends and holidays. The law requires strict compliance, otherwise the minor is entitled to be released while his case is pending. Mr. Kita recently filed a writ of habeus corpus on this issue and the Second District Court of Appeal ordered a juvenile court judge to release a minor on a overdetained case.
JUVENILE DETENTION HEARING
If ythe minor child is in custody, the first court proceeding is a detention hearing. At this hearing, the judge or referee makes a determination whether (to continue) to detain the minor child "pending adjudication of the charges." The Probation Officer provides his/her analysis along with the Deputy District Attorney. You may use the Public Defender or retain a private experienced Juvenile Defense Attorney.
WHAT CRITERIA IS RELIED UPON AT THE DETENTION HEARING?
The criteria are as follows:
At the juvenile detention hearing the minor child's attorney will enter a plea admitting or denying the "Petition" (this is the Complaint). Most attorneys will deny the petition pending evaluation of the prosecution case.
If the minor child is detained, there is a right to a speedy trialto take place within 15 court days of the arraignment. If your child is not in custody, the speedy trial requires an adjudication date within 30 calendar days.
If the minor child is not in custody, the first court date is called an "Arraignment." At this time, the minor child's attorney will enter a denial of the Petition and set the "Pretrial Hearing" and a "Court date."
The purpose of the Pretrial is for the prosecution and defense lawyers to discuss a possible resolution to the case and to discuss other outstanding issues, including the investigation and discovery of evidence and potential witnesses.
If the minor child is in custody, this must be set up the week following the arraignment unless time is waived . The pretrial date as well as the court trial date can be set at a later date if the minor child's attorney and minor child agree to a later date .
If the minor child is not in custody and unless time is waived, the pretrial date is often set two to three weeks after the arraignment .
Many Juvenile Court Judges are open to discussing a resolution of the case though a private conference in their chambers.
JUVENILE COURT TRIAL / JUVENILE COURT ADJUDICATION
When the case is set for "Adjudication," this is the time for a trial. Unlike Superior Court in which adult cases are handled, the minor child is not entitled to a jury trial. Instead, Juvenile Court trials are proceeded over by a Judge or Commissioner, and this individual is considered both the judge (as to legal issues) and the trier of fact.
We encourage you to retain an experienced Juvenile Court Attorney who is very familiar with the Juvenile Court proceedings as well as all of the Juvenile Court Judges and Commissioners. At Spital and Associates, we know the Judges and Commissioners and which ones may not be as favorable as the others. Pursuant to Penal Code section 170.6, a minor child has a right to an unbiased judge. However, the minor child's attorney must challenge the judge's impartiality immediately or be deemed to have waived that right.
As your San Diego Juvenile Delinquent Defense Attorney at Samuel Spital & Associates, we can help protect your child's rights to get the best legal result possible. If your child is arrested or investigated for a juvenile crime, contact us as your San Diego Juvenile Court Defense Attorney at 619.583.0350 or send an e-mail now so that we can help.
Samuel Spital & Associates
Main Offices
8880 Rio San Diego Drive
Suite 800
San Diego, CA 92108-1642
Telephone: 619-583-0350
Banker's Hill Associate's Office
Of Counsel - Russell Babcock, Esq.
1901 First Avenue, Suite 138
San Diego, Ca. 92101
Downtown Associate's Office
Of Counsel - Bill O'Connell, Esq.
110 West C Street, Suite 1300
San Diego, Ca. 92101-3978
Call 7 days a week at any hour or send an e-mail now.
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