Juvenile defense has become somewhat of a larger part of my practice than I ever really imagined it would. Perhaps it is because so few attorneys actually handle juvenile cases, or for another reason that I can't think of. In any event, I routinely find myself representing juveniles charged in juvenile court of crimes as varied as simple marijuana possession to murder.
There is a sense among criminal defense practitioners that juvenile court is not really criminal defense. I agree. In many ways, it's not. Even though we are generally using the same criminal statutes and analogous procedure rules, there is not always the sense of urgency associated with adult court. Maybe its the expectation that the kid is going to be placed on probation, except in the more serious of crimes, that devalues the defense of juveniles.
In juvenile court in Tarrant County, it is my understanding that there are fewer and fewer attorneys willing to accept appointed juvenile cases. Add to that the fact that there seems to be fewer attorneys that handle juvenile cases at all, even if retained, and you find a relatively small pool of attorneys in juvenile court on a daily basis.
The other day, I was at juvenile court trying to get a hearing scheduled for a retained client. As I stood in the coordinator's office looking at her calendar for the week, I noticed something I found amazing. Of all the cases set that week, only two cases had retained counsel. Two. And the week was full of settings from 8:30 to 4 everyday. Many of the attorneys listed I did not recognize.
I asked a few people who some of the attorneys were, and I even looked them up on the State Bar website. (I'm a curious guy, what can I say?) I was surprised to see most of them were either primarily family law attorneys or attorneys with an average of about 18 months of experience. Again, during this particular week at least, all but two were appointed.
Of course, juvenile law is not really criminal law because there really isn't a criminal conviction. Well, that's true, but it doesn't mean that it's not potentially quite serious.
I can't imagine my son getting in trouble to the extent that would necessitate a trip to juvenile. But if he did, I don't think I would entrust his future to a newly-minted attorney searching for some court-appointments or a family law attorney that doesn't even handle criminal defense.
Of course I know that there is nothing wrong with the court-appointed attorneys and that there are many excellent court-appointed attorneys. I know several at juvenile who, like me, handle appointed cases and are very skilled. It just strikes me as odd that so many people would simply allow their kid's future to be affected in such a way without hiring an attorney. Why don't people hire attorneys to defend their kids? Aren't they important enough?
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