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Juvenile Criminal Defense
What happens if your son or daughter received a notice to appear at the Juvenile Court in Massachusetts. Anytime a Juvenile receives a notice for a court date, one of the parents must appear at the court date. While Juvenile offenses can be very serious, known as Youthful Offender Offenses, many Juvenile case can be resolved favorably.
What cases are heard in the Juvenile Court in Massachusetts?The Juvenile Court has jurisdiction over children between the ages of seven and seventeen who are accused of violations of a city ordinance or municipal or state law. The Juvenile Court also has jurisdiction over “juveniles” with unresolved cases who have reached the age of 17.
What is the purpose of the Juvenile Court and why you may be able to have your child resolve the case without a Delinquency finding or Conviction
Under Massachusetts G.L. c. 119, §52, the purpose of the Juvenile Court is to help the child learn fro the experience and approximate the punishment that the parent should have given the child. Juvenile offenders are often given an opportunity to enter in to a program, learn from the experienced and given different diversionary options to avoid conviction. The goal of the Juvenile court system is to rehabilitate the child rather than to punish the child with most offenses.
What Diversionary programs are available?When a Juvenile is charged, in some cases there is the possibility of entering into a diversionary program that address the conduct raised in the allegations for criminal complaint. Diversion could include: community service, attending counseling, treatment that address the program raised, or payment of restitution. When diversion is successfully completed, no formal criminal charge is issued..
Reforms to the Juvenile Court system that benefit Juvenile’s ChargedRecent reforms to Massachusetts criminal laws have benefited Juvenile with the goal of having Juvenile’s avoid criminal charges for minor offenses.
Many crimes have been decriminalized:. This treat the crime as a civil offense.. If your son or daughter is charged with a Juvenile Offense, call DelSignore Law to discuss how the case can be handled and ways to avoid having the criminal charges issued. You can reach us at 781-686-5924.
