The Law Offices of Brian E. Skibby
8300 Utica Avenue, Third Floor
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
'A Pillar in the Legal Community'
909-635-2008
Phone: 909-635-2008
Fax: 909-635-2016
8300 Utica Avenue, Third Floor
Rancho Cucamonga, California 91730
24-Hour Assistance - Payment Plans Available - Free Consultations
Juvenile Law (Delinquency)
The Juvenile Justice System is much different than the Criminal Justice System because the primary focus is to rehabilitate rather than punish the minor. In recent years, more is being done to prosecute juveniles as adults while slowly reducing the age requirements to prosecute minors as adults.
As I have mentioned in my profile, I have worked both sides of Juvenile law cases as both the prosecutor and defender. My experiences have given me a unique viewpoint on how the system works and what is possible in each case.
Unlike adults, minors are housed in juvenile hall if the case is serious or released to their parents if the case is a property offense or a minor allegation. Typically the courts require juvenile cases to be heard rather quickly because of the potential long-term harm that can come to a minor who is detained. In most situations, the proceedings are totally confidential and not open to the public. When a case is called, the only people allowed at the proceedings are the minor’s immediate family and other attorneys. No friends or distant relatives are allowed to view the proceedings.
Minors are allowed to have attorneys, the right to cross-examine and confront witnesses and to be judged beyond a reasonable doubt; however, jury trials are not allowed. There are also more open rules about the use of hearsay and other evidentiary rules so that trials are not as technical. A minor faces an arraignment, like an adult, called a pre-hearing. They have the normal pretrial and trial rights an adult has but they have different names and terms for these hearings such as a jurisdictional hearing or detention hearing which are the terms for a trial and a bail hearing, respectively. If a minor is convicted or rather, a petition is sustained, they can be sent home on probation, sent to a placement which can be a boy’s home, ranch, camp or foster care or they can be sent to the California Youth Authority which is state prison for minors.
Even though the court takes a different approach with minors, the results can be strangely similar to punishment.
Licensed
Emergency Services Available
Family and Locally Owned