Juvenile Rights

I was surprised to see juveniles being questioned without counsel or parents present. I was more surprised to find out that in most states this is legal. A juvenile can waive his or her Miranda Rights and answer questions without a parent present. The waiver must be voluntary and that determination will be made based on the totality of the circumstances. In re Gault, 387 U.S. at 55. The presence of a parent and a signed consent from them will just be considered when trying to assess whether there was coercion. The Juvenile Justice Coalition in Columbus, Ohio found that juveniles were 42% more likely to give false testimony when coerced complared with 13% of adults. https://law.capital.edu/uploadedFiles/Law_School/NCALP/Youth%20and%20LE%20(Davies)%20YP.pdf

In Ohio, a divided Supreme Court ruled that juveniles did not gave to be represented by parents or an Attorney prior to being questioned by law enforcement. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dispatch.com/article/20121004/NEWS/310049711%3ftemplate=ampart

We have to teach our children to not give voluntary statements to the police and to ask to contact their parents immediately. And securing an Attorney is something that is ESSENTIAL when facing a charge in the judicial system. Going to court with no Attorney is like going to surgery with no surgeon. Dr’s have specialties so they can become experts and so do Attorneys. If you need a referral to a good Attorney, let me know.