LI
Biography
Many parents are terrified when their child is picked up for a crime. This fear is understandable. The criminal justice system is confusing, and justice is not always meted out fairly.
If your child has been charged with a crime, please call us. The juvenile justice system differs substantially from the adult justice system. You need a lawyer who understands these differences and can protect your child’s rights from start to finish.
In the adult justice system, the goal is punishment—determining whether a defendant is guilty and fashioning an appropriate punishment in the form of jail and/or fines. Punishment serves several purposes. It can deter the defendant from committing a crime in the future. It also registers the community’s disapproval of the defendant’s conduct.
With juvenile justice, the goal is reform. The system understands that children are still developing and one mistake as a youth does not inevitably lead to a life of crime as an adult. To this end, the juvenile system tries to rehabilitate young people through probation or probation camp, as well as through attendance of classes and/or treatment for substance abuse. If juvenile justice is successful, a young man or woman can become a productive adult.
Sometimes, minors are tried as adults for their crimes. Essentially, the system realizes that some serious crimes deserve punishment, regardless of the offender’s age. We think this practice arose because the public saw juvenile justice as too “soft” and demanded that some violent criminals be punished like adults.