The teenage years are a time of rebellion and experimentation. Most teens manage to make it through high school and into adulthood with only minor disciplinary issues, which means they will only face discipline at home or from the school they attend.
Unfortunately, for a minority of Texas teenagers, criminal arrest and charges could be the result of their youthful rebellious stage. As a parent who wants their child to learn from their mistakes, you might think that letting them go through the criminal justice system without financial support would teach them a hard lesson about the real world.
Unfortunately, for many juvenile offenders, that lesson doesn’t end when they turn 18. If you want to help your child overcome this hurdle, securing the help of an attorney with experience in juvenile justice on their behalf is often in their best interests.
Kids can wind up charged as adults and saddled with a lifelong record
Depending on the situation and the charges that your teenager faces, it’s possible that the Texas courts could attempt to try them as an adult or at least send them through the adult courts. Without the right help and guidance, you may not be able to navigate the criminal justice system well enough to get your kid out of the adult court and into the juvenile justice system.
If a teenager faces charges as an adult, they could wind up with a criminal record that haunts them for life, to say nothing of how the trauma of any incarceration they experience could affect their potential.
Your teen can learn from this mistake without ruining their life
The Texas juvenile justice program involves a combination of counseling, education and penalties in order to drive home the seriousness of criminal offenses to teenagers and young adults. The focus of this program is to prevent future offenses and help juvenile offenders get their lives back on track.
Aggressively working to defend your teen while also trying to ensure they have access to the right support as you navigate the Texas criminal justice system can be very difficult, which is another reason why having an experienced attorney on your team can help you make the best of a difficult situation for your family.
