Long Beach Juvenile Crimes Defense Attorney

Comprehensive Defense for Minors Facing Criminal Charges

If your child has been arrested for a juvenile crime, the situation is far more than just a statistic to you and your family. The experience of an arrest can be a frightening experience for a teenager, and the distress you are feeling as a parent may be considerable.

Let our qualified attorneys from the Law Office of Peacock & Le Beau help you navigate the complexities of this situation and seek to guide your child out of the juvenile courts. Both of our attorneys are recognized in the California SuperLawyers list. Call 562-888-9148 to learn how we can help!

Understanding Common Juvenile Crimes in Long Beach

At the Law Office of Peacock & Le Beau, we have experience handling all types of juvenile crimes throughout Long Beach but the following are some of the most common we see:

• Shoplifting & Theft
• Underage Drinking & DUI
• Assault
• Drug Violations
• Vandalism

Challenges Within the Juvenile Justice System

The juvenile justice system is different from the adult criminal justice system in the respect that it is focused more on rehabilitation than on punishment. By catching juvenile offenders early, the goal is to set them on the right path and help them avoid a future of criminality. In practice, it often has the opposite effect.

• If a youth is sentenced and sent to a juvenile detention center, he or she will be spending months or years living in close quarters with criminals, and is more likely to exit the system with an education in how to be a criminal.
• Even if the child is not detained, he or she will often suffer a major loss of self-esteem as a result of being processed through the courts and ending up with a conviction (referred to as a "sustained petition" in the juvenile justice system).
• Further, a sustained petition will usually count as a prior conviction in the event that your child is arrested in the future, and may even count as a strike under California's tough Three Strikes law.

Key Facts About the Juvenile Court Process

If you are under eighteen and charged with a crime in California, then here are a few facts that you need to know:

1. A minor can be prosecuted for any crime that an adult can.
2. Any charges will go on the minor's criminal record.
3. A minor is not entitled to a trial by jury, so the judge will provide a verdict.
4. A juvenile case will either be classified as a dependency or delinquency proceeding.

In addition, parents of juveniles can be held liable for any monetary losses sustained in the alleged crime and in some cases, the focus will also be on the parents' supposed faults.

Contact Our Long Beach Juvenile Crime Lawyers Today

It is vital that you take action now to defend your child's rights and safeguard his or her future against the potential consequences of this situation. A criminal attorney from our firm may be able to prove your child's innocence or even to have the charges dismissed outright by using proven criminal defense strategies. Even if this is not possible, we can still seek to negotiate with the prosecutor for a favorable disposition such as alternative sentencing or a deferred entry of judgment which would allow your child to avoid conviction in exchange for completing a program.

Fill out the free case evaluation form now so that we can review your options and begin working on a strategy.