Archive for the ‘San Diego Juvenile Crimes Lawyer’ Category
Friday, January 11th, 2013
Contributing to the delinquency of a minor is a rather broad charge that can cover all sorts of activities that involve aiding or encouraging someone under the age of 18 to commit a crime. While the most common actions that involve this charge are buying cigarettes or alcohol for someone underage, these are by no means the only things that can lead to such a charge. If you have been accused of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, please call a Vista defense lawyer as soon as possible.
Aside from buying alcohol or tobacco products for a minor, you could also be charged with this crime for doing anything that could contribute to a minor missing school for a long period of time or for becoming dependent on the juvenile court system. This means anything from convincing a minor to ditch school in order to go on a lengthy road trip to getting a minor to participate in an armed robbery could result in charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, along with any other charges directly related to the acts themselves. Some people think having a juvenile actually commit the crime creates a shield for the adult, but often prosecutors will offer the juvenile a deal if they testify against the adult instigator. The only way to fight these offenses is with the help of skilled Vista criminal defense attorneys.
Fortunately, because this crime is so vague, it is also difficult to prosecute, especially when the state is up against expert criminal attorneys in Vista. If you have been accused of contributing to the delinquency of a minor or believe something you have done may be result in your being charged with this crime, please call Vista defense attorney Peter M. Liss at (760) 643-4050 to schedule a free initial consultation.
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Tuesday, September 18th, 2012
While the juvenile court system operates in a vastly different manner than the adult system, that doesn’t mean that minors are without rights. In fact, when it comes to sentencing, minors are protected from many of the worst criminal penalties, for example, capital punishment, even if they are tried in adult court. If your child has been arrested and you have any questions about his or her rights, please call San Diego juvenile lawyer Peter M. Liss.
School officials and police on school grounds cannot search a child’s locker unless they have a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. It is important to note that while this is a lesser standard of proof than probable cause, it does still require the officials to have a reasonable suspicion that the student has violated a school rule or law, so random locker searches are not permitted. If a child’s rights protecting him or her from unreasonable searches have been violated by the police or school officials, your San Diego juvenile attorney may be able to have evidence related to the search suppressed from the trial so it cannot be used against your child.
When police question a minor, the child should answer questions related to his or her identity, but like an adult being questioned by the police, he or she is not required to answer any questions related to criminal activities and may request to speak with a San Diego juvenile lawyer.
It is important to note that you are not required to be there if the police interrogate your child, so you should teach your children to always ask to speak with a lawyer if the police try to interrogate them. You should also know that if you and your child are left alone in an interrogation room, your conversation may be recorded and could be used against your child as evidence. Do not discuss anything about the crime your child has been accused of until you have a lawyer present or until you leave the police station after your child is released back into your custody.
Like adults who get arrested, minors who are placed under arrest have the right to make a phone call so they can contact a San Diego juvenile crimes lawyer. They are also granted one additional phone call so they can notify their parents they have been arrested. Once the child is placed under arrest, the prosecution has 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays to file charges or else the minor must be released from custody.
There are some ways that minors have fewer rights than adults though. For example, they cannot be granted bail and they have no right to trial by jury. If you have any questions about your child’s rights after he or she has been accused of a crime, please contact San Diego juvenile crimes attorney Peter M. Liss at (858) 486-3024.
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Tuesday, September 11th, 2012
If your child has been arrested, you may not know what to expect. After all, juvenile criminal matters are different in a number of ways. For one thing, there is only one juvenile court in San Diego, so children from South to North County all have their cases heard at the San Diego Juvenile Court near Children’s Hospital on Meadowlark Dr.
Another big difference from standard criminal procedures is that minors are usually detained in one of two locations, Juvenile Hall -next to the Juvenile Court or in East Mesa near the Mexican border. Unlike adult prisoners, they will not be detained in a county jail.
When they are brought in for their detention hearing, the juvenile court equivalent of an arraignment, they cannot receive bail. The hearing must occur within 48 hours, excluding non-court days, of the minor being detained. If the prosecution fails to file a petition charging the minor within 48 hours of detention, then the minor is automatically released to his parents.
Before the detention hearing, the probation department will prepare a report making recommendations to the judge whether to release or detain a minor. The judge ultimately has the final say in the matter and his opinion will be based on both the defendant and the crime in question.
Juvenile hall is a scary place for a minor to stay and no parent wants their child locked away, especially before their guilt has even been determined. Aside from being comforting to both you and your child, having your son or daughter released will help your San Diego juvenile lawyer further investigate the case and better prepare your child for the actual trial. That is why it is so important to contact a skilled San Diego juvenile attorney as soon as your son or daughter has been arrested so you can get him or her out of detention as soon as possible for everyone’s benefit.
It is essential you contact a San Diego juvenile crime lawyer with ample experience in this court system as so many rules are different from the adult courts. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a free initial consultation with San Diego juvenile crimes attorney Peter M. Liss at either of his two San Diego locations, please call (760) 643-4050.
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Tags: juvenile crimes, minors, san diego juvenile attorney, San DIego juvenile crime attorney, San Diego juvenile crimes lawyer, san diego juvenile lawyer
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Friday, December 23rd, 2011
If you have been accused of a crime and the police and prosecutors determine that you are affiliated to a gang, they may then seek gang enhancements to be applied to the charges you are facing. If you have committed a misdemeanor, it will become a felony. If the crime was a felony, you may receive a strike on your record and have an additional four years of prison time added to your sentence. In cases involving very serious crimes, you could even have up to ten years added to your sentence. It is important to know that even if you are not a member of a gang, you can still be convicted of a gang crime if you committed a crime in order to help a gang.
Even if you are granted probation for your actions, your probation will be subject to gang conditions, which means you cannot associate with gang members or wear gang-affiliated clothing. In some cases, you may even be restricted from entering certain parts of the city.
If you are convicted of a gang crime, you will be added to a gang registry that may be accessed by any police officer at any time in the future.
When you have been accused of a gang crime, it is critical that you speak with a Vista gang crimes attorney as soon as possible and refuse to speak to the police or prosecutors until you do so. Remember, anything you say may be used against you later on.
If you have been accused of any crime that could be tied in with gang activities, please call San Diego juvenile crimes attorney Peter M. Liss at (760) 643-4050 to schedule your free initial consultation.
Tags: gang affiliation laws in California, gang crimes in California, Vista gang attorney, Vista gang crimes lawyer, Vista gang enhancements
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Sunday, September 25th, 2011
When it comes to juvenile drunk driving laws, California has some of the strictest laws in the country. Minors can be arrested and charged with drunk driving with even the slightest trace of alcohol in their system. This is known as a Zero Tolerance policy.
When you are under 21 and suspected of drunk driving, an officer can make you take a preliminary alcohol screening (PAS). If the you refuse, you will face a mandatory license suspension. If your BAC is .01% or higher, you will lose your driving privileges for one year and your case will be sent to traffic court, where you could face hefty fines.
If your BAC is .05% or greater, then your case will be handled in the criminal court, where you could face serious fines, be forced to enroll in a DUI course and lose your license for one year. If your BAC was above 0.08%, then you may be charged with an adult DUI and you will face all the penalties that this serious crime entails.
A DUI conviction could hamper your chances of being accepted into the college or job of your choice as this offense can appear on your DMV or criminal record. If you, or your juvenile child, has been accused of driving under the influence, please call a skilled Vista drunk driving attorney as soon as possible.
The results from a PAS device are always worth fighting because the officer who arrested you will have to show that their device was working properly at the time you were arrested and that they had the qualification to administer such a test. If they cannot prove both of these things, then the evidence will not be admitted into court. This is quite different from the regular breathalyzer test, which is generally presumed to be valid. This is why it is so critical that anyone under the age of 21 always work with an experienced Vista DUI lawyer.
If you are ready to speak with San Diego juvenile defense attorney Peter M. Liss, please call (760) 643-4050 to schedule a free initial consultation.
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Tags: california dui laws, drinking and driving while a minor, juvenile duis, vista drunk driving lawyer, vista dui attorney
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Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
 Vandalism isn’t limited to graffiti, although that’s one of the most common types of vandalism, any destruction to another person’s property falls under the scope of this law. That means keying someone’s car, breaking a store window, knocking over a gravestone, or defacing a movie theater poster are all considered acts of vandalism.
If you have not been convicted of vandalism and the damage will cost under $400 to repair, you will only be charged with a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail, fines, community service and up to 3 years of probation. If the damage will cost more than that to fix, or if you have a prior conviction, you will be facing felony charges. Felony vandalism convictions may result in jail or prison time, up to $10,000 in fines and community service. No matter how serious the charge, you may be subject to make restitution to the victim and a one year suspension of your driver’s license.
In some cases, the prosecution may push for a misdemeanor charge to be elevated to a felony if they believe it was a hate crime or was a gang-related activity. It is critical that anyone who has been arrested for vandalism should immediately contact an experienced Vista vandalism attorney like Peter M. Liss.
If you are the parent of a minor who has been charged with this crime, it is important to realize that you could be held liable for the fines incurred by your child’s actions. That is why you need a San Diego juvenile crime lawyer to help defend your son or daughter from the accusations against them. Please call Peter M. Liss at (760) 643-4050 to discuss your case.
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Tags: graffiti, san diego juvenile attorney, vandalism, vista vandalism lawyer
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Thursday, May 26th, 2011
 Like many states, California tries minors separately from adults. Anyone under the age of 18 at the time of the offense will be tried in this court system, although the crimes and penalties are largely the same as those faced by adults. It is important to realize that juveniles can be sentenced to the maximum sentence just as easily as an adult can, meaning even a misdemeanor crime can result in up to a year of confinement in a juvenile detention facility. A juvenile convicted of a felony can be confined up until the age of 25.
In serious felony cases, minors over the age of 14 can be tried in adult courts, meaning sentences can go all the way up to life imprisonment for homicide.
While many people think police need the permission of a parent before questioning a minor, that is not the case in California. Police can visit a school and question a minor without a parent’s permission, but the juvenile has the right to refuse to talk to the officers and to decline a search of their possessions.
While the crimes and punishments may be the same in both juvenile and adult courts, there are a few differences between the two systems. Juvenile courts do not perform trial by jury or offer bail. Although bail is not offered, a San Diego juvenile lawyer can argue for a child’s release into parental custody. At the end of the trial, the judge will make his verdict about the minor’s guilt, not a jury.
Unlike adult court systems, which are intended to serve as punishment for crimes, juvenile court systems are intended as a means for rehabilitation. For this reason, juvenile courts offer many options to preventing the minor from having a criminal charge on his or her record and a number of options to help the minor avoid prosecution altogether. An experienced San Diego juvenile attorney can opt for a diversion program, a case dismissal and the sealing of criminal records based on a specific client’s needs. If your child has been accused of a crime, please call experienced Vista criminal lawyer Peter M. Liss today at (760) 643-4050.
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Tags: juvenile crimes, minors, san diego juvenile attorney, san diego juvenile lawyer, vista criminal attorney
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