Juvenile Court - Florida Family Law, Orlando Criminal Attorney

Criminal Law

What Happens When Your Child is Arrested?

Criminal Law Areas

When the police arrest a child it is very similar to when they arrest an adult. They should still inform your child of his or her constitutional rights prior to entering into any interrogation of the child. However, when a child is arrested, all of the records are considered confidential and are not open for public review or inspection. Your child will not be taken directly to the county jail. Your child will be taken instead to a juvenile detention center. While the juvenile detention center is very similar to a jail it is designed primarily for children and there is no contact with adult offenders.

The facility can release your child to you or another responsible adult depending upon the severity of the crime and your child's arrest history. Both the police and the facility are required by law to make a good faith effort to contact the child's parent or legal guardian as soon as practical. If the child is released to you, you will be given a date to return to court. It is very important that you return to court on that date at the time and place specified or the judge may issue a pick-up order to place your child back in custody until the child can appear before the judge.

It is very important that you, as a parent, take the juvenile court system quite seriously because there are many ways in which the system can come back to haunt an individual after they reach the age of majority. Since juvenile court by its very nature is dealing with young people who have their whole lives ahead of them it is foolish not to treat the matter with the same seriousness with which the law treats juvenile crimes. You will find it helpful to consult with an attorney familiar with juvenile court procedures prior to appearing before the judge.

Florida Family Law and Criminal Defense Law

Criminal Law

What Happens When Your Child is Arrested?

Criminal Law Areas