Having a child charged with a offense of any kind in an Oklahoma juvenile court can be difficult on the whole family. Most often, your child being in trouble with the law is symptomatic of deeper issues that need to be addressed.
When working with an Oklahoma City juvenile defense attorney, your goal should be to resolve the case efficiently and in the best interests of the child. This article discusses the most important goals of any juvenile case in Oklahoma.
Defending Your Child in an Oklahoma Juvenile Court
When a lawyer deals with a case in an Oklahoma juvenile court, there are typically three objectives.
The first is to keep the youth out of custody and keep the child at home with their family and community, where they belong. Your attorney should seek to resolve the issue by pursuing an informal resolution, which may include one or more of the following:
- a stern lecture;
- mandatory counseling;
- mandatory community service;
- the payment of restitution to the victim or victims of the crime; and
- probation.
Any of these conclusions is preferable to having the case adjudicated and disposed in an Oklahoma juvenile court.
The second objective is to keep the offense off of the minor’s record. Here, the goal is to prevent the juvenile from acquiring a criminal record that will haunt them for the rest of their life. Keeping your child’s record clean and keeping them out the criminal justice system is important to preserving their future.
The third goal is to help get the minor’s life back on track. All aspects of the child’s life need to be examined in order to determine what caused him or her to get in trouble in the first place. Whether it drugs, alcohol, or hanging out with the wrong crowd, those issues need to be addressed.
This should also include an assessment of the juvenile’s family life and mental health which, when troubled, are often the reasons that lead so many youth into the juvenile justice system.
So, not only is the goal to get the child out of the juvenile court system and out of trouble now, but to get their life back on track and keep them out of the system by dealing with the underlying issues that led them here in the first place.
Initial Consultation: Oklahoma City Criminal Defense Attorney
If your child had been charged with a crime in Oklahoma, come and explain the situation to an experienced Oklahoma City criminal defense attorney and let us see what we can do to get your child out of juvenile court, out of trouble, and back on the right track.
For a initial consultation, call the Criminal Defense Law Office of Oklahoma City at 405-588-4529 (588-4LAW) today.
If you prefer, you may send your question using the contact form at the top right side of this page.