When a minor is charged with a crime, it is important that that minor’s parents or guardians seek out the legal counsel provided by an experienced criminal defense attorney. Some Americans may be under a misperception that juvenile crime is relatively harmless and that a conviction will not affect a juvenile’s life to any great extent. Contrary to this belief, a conviction on a juvenile’s record may affect that young person significantly throughout his or her life.
A criminal conviction can keep a juvenile from being accepted into college, from obtaining employment and from renting an apartment. If an experienced criminal attorney is not consulted in connection with a juvenile’s case, that young person may end up caught in the juvenile justice system for much longer than necessary or may even be tried and convicted as an adult.
An experienced attorney may be able to get the charges against your child or teen either dropped or reduced. If your child or teen is convicted, an attorney may be able to mitigate the consequences of that conviction and may even be able to get the conviction dropped from his or her record in the future.
Once your child or teen is arrested, you may feel disoriented and unsure of how to respond to the situation. You may even be tempted to let your child fend for himself or herself in order to teach him or her about consequences. However, it is generally important to resist this urge, as the consequences of a conviction will likely far outweigh the value of the lesson such a turn of events would result in.