Sacramento Juvenile Attorney Your child is in trouble. I can help.

Is your child in trouble with the law?

Most juvenile cases start with an arrest or a citation. Sometimes police send the child home with a parent. Sometimes the child is held in juvenile hall. Either way, call me as soon as you can.

Tell your child not to answer questions from police about what happened. Police often aren’t trying to clear up a misunderstanding; they’re gathering evidence. Your child should politely say they want a lawyer and don’t want to answer questions, then stop talking. Staying silent isn’t enough on its own; they have to say it.

In Sacramento County, juvenile cases are heard at the Juvenile Courthouse, 9605 Kiefer Boulevard, Sacramento.

How juvenile court is different

Juvenile court has its own process and its own words for things:

• Petition. The case starts with a petition, the juvenile version of criminal charges.
• Detention hearing. If your child is being held, a judge decides early on whether they can go home.
• Jurisdiction hearing. This is the juvenile version of a trial. There’s no jury. A judge decides whether the charges are true.
• Disposition. If the judge finds the charges true, this is the juvenile version of sentencing.

Most juvenile cases are confidential and closed to the public, though some cases with serious charges are open. Your child usually needs to come to court, and a parent usually comes too. I’ll be there with you and explain each step.

In some serious cases, if the child was 16 or 17, the prosecutor can ask to move the case to adult court. The juvenile judge decides, and I work to keep the case in juvenile court.

What I do on your child’s case

• I get the police reports and any video, and I go through all of it myself.
• I look for problems: an illegal stop or search, questioning that broke the rules, weak evidence.
• I talk with probation and the prosecutor about your child as a person: school, family, activities, and what they’ve done since.
• I help your child build that story, with things like school progress, counseling, and letters from teachers or coaches.
• I explain everything in plain words, to your child and to you.

When you hire me, you get me. I go to court, I review the evidence, and I do the research and writing myself.

Outcomes I work toward

Every case is different, and I can’t promise a result. These are the outcomes I work toward:

• No petition filed. Probation can handle some cases informally, without court.
• Informal probation. If your child does well, the case is dismissed.
• Charges dismissed or reduced.
• Your child stays at home, not in custody.
• A sealed record.

California law requires the court to dismiss and seal many juvenile cases once a child successfully finishes probation (Welfare and Institutions Code 786). Some serious offenses committed at 14 or older don’t qualify. When your child becomes eligible, I typically make sure the record gets sealed, at no additional charge. I don’t just wait for “automatic” relief, which often doesn’t happen. Why a clean record matters.

For parents

You’re welcome in this process. I talk with you about the case, what happens next, and how to help your child. But your child is my client. What your child tells me stays between us. That protects your child, and it helps them be honest with me.

Is your child not a U.S. citizen? Tell me at the start. I plan around immigration consequences.

Juvenile cases cost the same as adult cases. I charge flat fees, so you know the cost before you hire me. See my fees.

Questions