What to Do if Someone Presses Charges Against Your Child in Tacoma

Criminal charges are not just for adults. Many young people face charges, but their cases must go through the juvenile justice system, which treats them far differently from adult offenders. If your child is charged, you should hire an experienced defense attorney as soon as possible. Do not allow one mistake to ruin your child’s future.

Juveniles often make foolish mistakes that get them into trouble. While this is often a part of growing up, serious mistakes might lead to serious penalties, including criminal charges. You should contact a lawyer for help with your child’s charges immediately. The juvenile justice system is different than the more commonly known adult justice system, and your attorney should have the skills to defend your child and hopefully get them released into your custody. Your attorney can also develop effective defense tactics and help you plan ahead so that this case does not negatively impact your child’s future.

Get a free, private case assessment from our Tacoma criminal defense lawyers with the Law Offices of Smith & White by calling (253) 203-1645.

When to Contact a Lawyer About Criminal Charges Against Your Child

When it comes to criminal charges, you must act fast to get help. The justice system might not wait for you if you hesitate, and the sooner you contact a lawyer, the better.

You should contact an attorney about your child’s charges immediately. While the juvenile justice system is different from the justice system for adults, you are still allowed to have a lawyer for your child. In many cases, courts likely will not proceed until a child has a lawyer to represent them.

It is never too early to hire a lawyer. Even if your child has not been formally charged or even arrested yet, they might still benefit from an attorney’s advice and assistance. If a criminal investigation is still pending, a lawyer can help you protect your child’s legal rights from being trampled by the authorities.

If your child has already been arrested and charged, you should hire a lawyer before their first court appearance. After a juvenile is arrested, a judge must determine if there is enough probable cause to hold the juvenile in custody. This probable cause hearing must occur within 48 hours of the arrest. As such, your child should have a lawyer as soon as possible.

Protecting Your Child After They Are Arrested in Tacoma

Your first concern may be to get your child home and out of police custody. Your attorney can step in and help make this happen.

The authorities may turn a child over to their parents instead of holding them in custody. This is discretionary, but our Tacoma criminal defense lawyers may be able to convince the authorities to release your child if a safety plan is in place. If the police believe that parents will keep their child safe and out of further trouble, they are more likely to release them.

It is normal for the police to question suspects about alleged offenses, even if they are children. Your child should not speak to the police on their own. Generally, the police must allow a juvenile to speak with their parents or an attorney before questioning them. As such, it is imperative that you get a lawyer immediately.

As mentioned above, the authorities need probable cause to detain a juvenile after arrest. Under the Criminal Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction CrRLJ § 3.2.1(a), a court must make a judicial determination of probable cause within 48 hours of the arrest. If we can show there is not enough probably cause to hold your child, they may be released to your custody.

Developing Effective Defense Strategies for Your Child

The best defense strategy for your child’s case must be carefully determined with an attorney. You might have numerous options to review, and some might be better than others, depending on the situation.

Challenging the Evidence

One strategy is to examine the evidence against your child and determine weak points or flaws in the prosecutor’s plans. Just like in the adult court system, prosecutors must prove that a juvenile is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This is an incredibly high burden of proof, and there is a chance that the prosecutor may not have sufficient evidence to meet their burden.

Some evidence might be unlawful or otherwise inadmissible. For example, if the police interrogated your child without a parent or lawyer present, any incriminating information they might have divulged could be excluded from the case. Juveniles should almost always be questioned with an adult present.

Preventing Transfer to Adult Court

You may have heard news stories about juveniles being tried as adults for crimes. This may occur in special cases where the juvenile’s alleged behavior is particularly shocking.

Under R.C.W. § 14.40.120(a), prosecutors may request to transfer a juvenile to adult court if the juvenile is at least 15 and charged with a serious violent offense. Alternatively, the juvenile may be 14 or younger and charged with first- or second-degree murder to be eligible for transfer. A juvenile might instead be transferred at any age if they are charged with custodial assault while already serving a juvenile sentence to age 21.

If prosecutors try to transfer your child to adult court, we can try to intervene and convince the court that it is not necessary or that your child is ineligible for transfer.

Plea Bargains

Another strategy is to work out a plea bargain with the prosecutor. They may be willing to drop certain charges or request a more lenient sentence in exchange for a guilty plea. Many juveniles avoid the harshest possibilities, such as incarceration in detention centers, through plea bargaining.

Call Our Tacoma Criminal Defense Attorney for Help with Your Child’s Case

Get a free, private case assessment from our Lakewood criminal defense lawyers with the Law Offices of Smith & White by calling (253) 203-1645.