Jacksonville Criminal Attorney Blog

As a Jacksonville Juvenile Lawyer, I can tell you that juvenile law is different than the adult criminal process.

If a child is arrested in Jacksonville, that child has certain rights. A juvenile criminal attorney is required at each stage of a juvenile proceeding. The juvenile has to be told of his right to counsel and if he or she wants to waive counsel, the court has to conduct an extensive inquiry to determine whether the child freely and intelligently made the waiver.

This "waiver" of counsel occurs only if the child had the opportunity to confer with a juvenile defense lawyer regarding:

1. the child's right to counsel
2. the consequences of waiving counsel
3. any other factors regarding the child's rights.

When conducting the inquiry of the child, the judge has to tell the juvenile the benefits he or she would give up and the danger of representing him or herself, determine whether the child's choice was voluntarily and intelligently made, and determine whether any unusual circumstances existed which would prevent the child from exercising the right to represent him or herself.

After the inquiry is conducted, the waiver has to be in writing and given to the court in the presence of a parent, legal guardian or custodian, or a Florida criminal defense attorney.

The Florida Supreme Court just decided that juveniles should only be shackled in certain circumstances. Before this ruling, if a juvenile was arrested in Jacksonville, whenever the child was brought to court, they would be in 4 point shackles. Even if the child was in jail for petty theft, he or she would be in these heavy restraints.

Some juveniles can still be shackled. If the child:

1. Is a physical threat to himself or others in the courtroom.
2. If the child has a history of disruptive behavior.
3. If the court believes the child will try to run.

The goal of juvenile court is supposed to be rehabilitation and if your child is arrested in Jacksonville, you should consult with a Jacksonville juvenile attorney.

More and more women are being sentenced to prison time in Florida. According the the Department of Corrections, the amount of women sentenced to prison time has doubled in 10 years. This year, there are 882 women under 25 years-old currently in prison. The breakdown of the ages of these women is:

24 - 207 inmates

23 - 170

22 - 143

21 - 125

20 - 125

19 - 50

18 - 26

17 - 6

16 - 3

One of the reasons the number has gone up is juvenile "direct file" cases. This is when someone under 18 gets arrested for a felony and the government treats them as an adult. In Jacksonville, if a juvenile is arrested for a felony, especially one involving a gun or violence, there is a good chance they will be treated as an adult. The goal of any Jacksonville Juvenile Attorney is to keep their client in juvenile court.

The goal of any Jacksonville Juvenile Attorney is to keep their child client in juvenile court. There is a driving case pending in Jacksonville juvenile court that deals with "direct filing" a juvenile. That means that even thought the defendant is under 18 years-old, the state of Florida could choose to treat that defendant as an adult. The prosecutor has to file a Certificate of Filing Direct Information on a Juvenile.

When the child has been transferred to adult court, the child is treated in every respect as an adult. All felony cases pertaining t that child will be immediately transferred to adult court. The child will face all adult penalties, including prison time.

When a child is 14 or 15 years old at the time the alleged crime was committed, the prosecutor has discretion to file adult charges. The prosecutor makes the decision based on "public interest". The offenses the prosecutor can direct file in this case are arson, sexual battery, robbery, kidnapping, aggravated child abuse, aggravated assault, aggravated stalking, murder, manslaughter, armed burglary, aggravated battery, grand theft, carjacking, etc.

When the child is 16 or 17 years-old at the time of the crime, the prosecutor may file adult felony charges in Jacksonville at their discretion.

If your child is arrested as a juvenile and his or her case is kept in juvenile court, their sentence will most likely be determined by the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). Once a child enters a plea to a criminal charge or is convicted, they must be evaluated by the DJJ and their recommendation must be followed.

If a juvenile judge wants to depart from the recommendations of DJJ, he or she must explain and justify why one restrictiveness level is more appropriate than the other. In explaining, the judge must:

1. Articulate an understanding of the respective characteristics of the opposing restrictiveness levels, including the type of child that each restrictiveness level is designed to serve, the potential lengths of stay associated with each level, and the different treatment programs available to each of the levels.

AND

2. Then logically explain why, in light of all the different characteristics, one level is better for the juvenile and the community than the other.

Juvenile attorneys in Jacksonville would obviously argue for the least restrictive level, but in the end, the DJJ has the most say.

There are different levels of commitment when a juvenile is arrested in Jacksonville. The levels have different supervision and security standards.

1. Minimum Risk Non-Residential - Programs at this level work with the child and the child remains in the community. The child has to participate 5 days a week in the treatment program. The child has full access to the community. Children who are adjudicated a delinquent with sex crimes, crimes involving guns, first degree felonies, or life felonies are not allowed to be committed to this level.

2. Low Risk Residential - The child has unsupervised access to the community, but it is a residential program, campus-style. The program provides education and treatment. The children who get sentenced to this level have to pose a low risk to themselves and the public. Again, if your child committed a sex offense, gun crime, or life or first degree felonies, they are not eligible for this level.

3. Moderate Risk Residential - This program is residential and the child is allowed supervised access to the community. The building is secure with locking doors. Education is provided as well as treatment. There is supervision 24 hours a day in this level. Handcuffs can be used if deemed necessary.

4. High-Risk Residential - If a child is committed to this level, he or she will have no access to the community. In the final days of the commitment, if the child has completed the program, they may have visiting rights to their home, job interview, or for school enrollment.

5. Maximum Risk Residential - This program is the equivalent of a juvenile prison. This is a long-term residential program and the child has no access to the community.

If your child has been arrested in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Juvenile Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

Delinquency Prevention Programs - city programs designed to reduce juvenile arrests in Jacksonville and gang activity.

Detention Care - the care of a child in secure, non-secure, or home detention while his or her case is pending.

Secure Detention - custody of a child. The child is restrained to the detention center or facility while the criminal case is pending.

Non-Secure Detention - custody of a child while the child is in a residential program in the community or not physically restrained, but under the supervision of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Home Detention - custody of the child where the child is released to the parent or guardian.

There are certain terms that apply to juvenile crime in Jacksonville, Florida. Some legal definitions are here:

Child, Juvenile, Youth - any unmarried person under 18 who has not been emancipated.

Comprehensive Assessment - the collection of information used to evaluate a juvenile offender's physical, educational, psychological, vocational, familial, and social conditions.

Day Treatment - a nonresidential community program used to provide an intervention to children who are on probation in Jacksonville or on conditional release. The program can provide education services and acts as a case management system.

Delinquency Program - any intake, probation, or similar program that takes custody and care of children who are accused of being delinquent or who have already been adjudicated delinquent.

If your child has been arrested in Jacksonville and is in the juvenile justice program, call our Jacksonville Juvenile Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

On July 1st, many new laws went into effect in Florida.

One of the new laws directly impacts juvenile crime in Florida. The law requires that school boards all over the state relax their zero-tolerance policies as it concerns student discipline. The law tells the boards only to call the police on students that pose a serious risk to the safety of other students. Before the law went into effect, boards would expel or call the police even on minor offenses. The goal of this law is to direct kids away from the criminal juvenile system.

If your child has been arrested as a juvenile in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Juvenile Attorneys at (904) 634-0900 for a free consultation. Our Jacksonville Juvenile Law Firm is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

FDLE (The Florida Department of Law Enforcement) keeps track of crime trends and has released last year's information regarding juvenile arrests in Florida. In 2008, there were:

81 juvenile Homicide arrests

537 juvenile Sex Crime arrests

24657 juvenile Theft arrests

13011 juvenile Drug arrests

498 juvenile DUI arrests

If your child has been arrested in Duval County, contact our Jacksonville Juvenile Crime Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

A 2007 study by the Ft. Meyers Juvenile Assessment Center shows that the majority of juveniles arrested for committing crimes is linked to drug abuse. In an article on news-press.com, the review showed that of the juveniles that were brought to the center after being arrested:

59% used illegal drugs

47% used alcohol

44% smoked pot

15% used cocaine

The article also cites a 2008 survey conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The survey found:

16% of juveniles used drugs other than pot

32% of juveniles smoked pot

If your child has been arrested as a juvenile in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Juvenile Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

The Jacksonville Juvenile Assessment Center was recently reopened. The center holds and assesses juveniles arrested in Jacksonville and either recommends detention or release to their parents. The center was funded by money the police took from people charged with drug crimes in Jacksonville. Nassau County juveniles who are arrested will also be allowed to use the Jacksonville Juvenile Center. The center holds around 7,700 children at any given time.

If you have any questions about juvenile arrests in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Juvenile Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

When a juvenile has been arrested in Jacksonville, they have to be released to a parent or guardian. Before it was closed in 2005, the Jacksonville Juvenile Assessment Center would take in these juveniles while their parents or guardians were being found. The Center is now re-opened and is responsible for processing juveniles if they were not arrested in Jacksonville for something dangerous enough to warrant taking them to the Duval County Jail. The Center handles juveniles arrested in Jacksonville, Clay County, and Nassau County.

If you are looking for a Jacksonville Juvenile Attorney, call our Jacksonville Juvenile Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

According to the Florida Times Union, the number of juveniles committing violent felonies in Jacksonville has increased in the past year.

The total number of violent crimes committed by juveniles increased from 881 during 2006-2007 to 914 during 2007-2008.

The number of violent crimes committed by juveniles in Jacksonville during 2007-2008 are:

Murder - 10
Attempted Murder - 1
Resisting Arrest with Violence - 15
Throwing Deadly Missiles - 35
Rape/Sexual Battery - 51
Armed Robbery - 139
Aggravated Assault/Aggravated Battery - 482

When a juvenile is charged with any crime, the consequences could be major to the juvenile and the parents. Contact an experienced Jacksonville Juvenile Attorney at (904) 634-0900 if you have any questions.

Last year, over 14,000 Jacksonville students in Duval County public schools skipped more than 20 days of class according to the Florida Times Union at Jacksonville.com. Of that number,

- 53% were boys
- 47% were girls
- 48% were African American
- 38 % were White
- 7% were Hispanic

When children are not in school, they are more likely to commit crimes and this is a major concern for the Jacksonville Journey. According to Jacksonville united Against Truancy, 44% of juvenile violent crimes are committed during school and 75% of the inmates in jail were truants at one time.

If you have any questions about juvenile criminal charges in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Juvenile Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

A Jacksonville Paxon Middle School student brought a gun to school on August 26th, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The school received an anonymous tip about the child possessing the gun at school. The gun was taken away from the child and he was subdued with a taser by officers.

According to National School Safety and Security Services, police officers utilizing tasers is a good alternative to using deadly force on juveniles.

Duval County (Jacksonville) middle and high schools do not have metal detectors, but the children are subject to random checks of their cars and book bags.

Courts in Florida can sentence a criminal defendant to a "youthful offender" sentence if they committed the crime before their 21st birthday. Florida offers "boot camp" to some youthful offenders. The Department of Corrections takes youths into this "shock" program instead of locking them up for a long period of time. They believe that the camp could produce the same deterrent effect that a long prison sentence could. This camp includes:

- Marching drills
- A dress code
- Physical labor assignments
- Marching drills
- Decision making and personal development training
- Education
- Drug counseling

Criminal offenders have to have no physical limitations that would prevent them from being involved in strenuous activity, they have to be sober, and could not have been previously incarcerated in any correctional facility.

If you have any questions about youthful offender sentences or juvenile offenses, please contact our experienced Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

Juvenile justice has always been an important part of the criminal system, but with Jacksonville's high crime rate, it is more important than ever. According to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice:

- 4,163 Jacksonville juveniles were charged with crimes during 2006-2007.

- Of that number, 765 juveniles were charged with violent crimes.

- The number of juveniles charged with violent crimes increased 4.5% from the 2002-2003 fiscal year to the 2006-2007 year.

- During 2006-2007, 87 Jacksonville juveniles were transferred to adult court. That means they will face the same amount of prison time an adult would. The decision whether or not to transfer a juvenile to adult court belongs to the Duval County State Attorney's Office.

- 988 Jacksonville juveniles were put on probation during 2006-2007.

The goal of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice is to offer treatment, prevention, and intervention services to youths and their families. In the juvenile system, the focus is on rehabilitation, not punishment. If the juvenile and their families get a glimpse of the criminal justice system, maybe they will not want to come back.