Juvenile Defense

Juvenile Law

I.      Defending Juveniles

II.     Types of Services

III.    Glossary

IV.    Resources

I.    PROVIDING EFFECTIVE REPRESENTATION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

    Children, like anyone brought before the justice system, need the active assistance of effectively trained, experienced counsel.

    The juvenile system is more than a legal system. It is social services, school systems, residential placements, treatment providers, the guardians ad litem, and probation departments all wrapped into one. Through our experience with various courts, agencies, and prosecutors' offices, Kurtz & Peckham can help children and their families navigate the system, head off potential problems, and get the services they need.

    Kurtz & Peckham is well-suited to work with the unique problems of adolescent defendants. Throughout our 23-year history, we have worked with children in the context of the juvenile justice system and family courts throughout the Denver metro area, including Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, and Jefferson Counties.

    Young people need, and are entitled to, effective legal representation to ensure that they are not unnecessarily detained, improperly transferred to adult criminal court, or inappropriately committed to placement outside the home.

    In juvenile court, preparing for dispositional hearings is often the most critical stage of the representation. Who the child is, why he or she got in trouble, what treatment he or she may need, and what treatment is available are issues that need to be fully explored and presented. Kurtz & Peckham strives to conduct these inquiries, develop sentencing alternatives, and present a complete picture of the child to the court.

    The juvenile justice system was originally designed to be "child-centered" -- to integrate children into society and protect the public by providing an individualized and appropriate mix of treatment and discipline.

    However, the system increasingly resembles the adult criminal justice system. Certain "crimes of violence" and sex offenses have important long-term consequences that must be considered. If the charges against a minor are sustained, he or she needs effective representation to ensure that the court's order is fair and appropriate.

    At Kurtz & Peckham, we take the time to communicate with child clients and their parents or guardians. Many of our clients come from different cultures, have emotional problems, or are distrustful of adults. We try hard to know who the child is, what she or he wants, and what she or he needs. We strive to explain, in a way that he or she will understand, what the options are and what is going on in court. This takes time, patience, skill, and a keen interest in children.

TAKING THE LONG TERM VIEW

    In the past, what happened in the juvenile system mattered only there. When the child turned 18, the slate was wiped clean. This is no longer the case.

    While the immediate outcome of an adjudication is often the greatest concern to our juvenile clients, there are many serious long-term consequences which we ask our clients and their parents to consider as well.

    A wide range of both criminal and non-criminal consequences and disabilities may be relevant. The increasing loss of secrecy for juvenile records may impair educational and career options. Juvenile adjudications may constitute predicate offenses in a future consideration of transfer to adult court. If a petition alleging a sex offense is sustained, a juvenile may be required to submit to offense-specific treatment and register with the state's sex offender registry well into adulthood -- often simply due to acts that were once considered "part of growing up."

    Unfortunately, too many of the facilities that house, treat, or supervise juveniles do not improve their lives. Kurtz & Peckham is committed to keeping abreast of what works and what doesn't in juvenile programming. We try to track our clients and get accurate and up to date information about the programs they are in because we need to know if they are getting the treatment ordered. This follow up is essential to protect our clients and ensure the system is working for them.

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II.    TYPES OF SERVICES

Kurtz & Peckham provides representation for the following matters related to Juvenile Law:

• Defending Juveniles in Delinquency Proceedings
  (including detention hearings, pre-trial matters, trial representation, sentencing, and review hearings)
• Expungement of Juvenile Records
• School Disciplinary Proceedings

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III.    GLOSSARY OF JUVENILE LAW TERMS

Adjudication: In the context of the juvenile justice system, an adjudication is an order of the court that a child has been found to have committed a delinquent act.

    Adults who are found guilty of a crime are convicted by the judge or jury. Under the Children's Code, the court does not "convict" the child of a crime. Rather, the court "adjudicates" the child a juvenile delinquent if he or she is found to have committed an offense that would be considered a crime if it were committed by an adult.

Deferred Adjudication: The judge can defer adjudications and set the terms and conditions of the deferment. If the juvenile successfully completes the terms of the deferment, his or her admission of guilt is withdrawn and the original delinquency petition is dismissed.

Diversion: A community-based alternative to the formal court system. Many cities and counties offer juveniles the opportunity to avoid delinquency proceedings if the child successfully completes "Diversion" program.

    In practical terms, Diversion means that the district attorney will drop the charges. If the child completes the diversion program, the charges will stay dropped. If the child fails to complete the program or gets kicked out, the prosecution can file the original charges again.

    Diversion programs may include classes, therapy, supervision, and a variety of other conditions, such as curfews, random drug testing, and school attendance. Programs differ among the judicial districts. The criteria for acceptance vary in different judicial districts. The prosecution may determine that a juvenile is not an appropriate candidate for Diversion based upon his or her history, the circumstances of an alleged offense, or a variety of other factors.

DYC: "DYC" refers to the Department of Youth Corrections.

Informal Adjustment: The prosecution may request that a juvenile's matter be handled as an informal adjustment at any time before, during, or after the filing of a delinquency petition. The Children's Code provides that the period of an informal adjustment shall be no longer than six months, but may be extended for up to an additional six months.

Magistrate: Magistrates are judges with limited authority in the juvenile justice system. A party to a case has a right to object to a magistrate hearing a matter. However, the magistrate may hear a detention hearing, advisement, and delinquency preliminary hearing over the objection of the party.

    Magistrates may not hear jury trials or delinquency transfer hearings.

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IV.    RESOURCES

Youth Corrections Facilities

Runaway and Homeless Youth Shelters

Aurora-
COMITIS Crisis Center 303-343-9890

Boulder -

Attention Homes, Inc. 303-444-1607

Denver-
Urban Peaks 303-777-9198
Volunteers of America Bannock Shelter (boys) 303-825-6025
Volunteers of America Triad Shelter (girls) 303-831-8502
The Spot

Grand Junction-
Mesa County Dept. Of Social Services 970-242-1211

Lakewood-
Gemini Shelter 303-235-0630

Pueblo-
Pueblo Youth Services 719-542-5161

Rifle/Glenwood Springs-
Garfield Youth Services 970-625-3141

SW Colorado-
Towaoc Sunrise Youth Shelter 970-565-9634

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