Juvenile Defense Attorney in Johnson County, Kansas

Juvenile delinquency, otherwise known as juvenile offending, refers to when youth participates in illegal behaviors. A juvenile delinquent is a minor under the age of 18 who commits an illegal act that would otherwise be charged as a crime if it were committed by an adult. Depending upon the nature of the crime and the severity of the offense, the juvenile may be charged and tried the same as an adult, or undergo a unique set of litigation specific to juveniles.

According to a Juvenile Court Statistics report supported by the National Center for Juvenile Justice, in 2009, courts with juvenile jurisdiction handled approximately 1,500,000 delinquency cases. In that same year, more than 31 million youth were under the jurisdiction of juvenile court. Of this demographic, 79% were between the ages of 10 and 15, 12% were the age of 16, and 9% were age 17. Males were involved in 72% of the delinquency cases handled by the juvenile courts.

If your child or someone under your care has been arrested for juvenile offenses, you are not alone! Contact a Johnson County juvenile defense attorney from the Martin Law Group, LLC as soon as possible!

Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority

In the state of Kansas, the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority is the agency that oversees juvenile offenders. In Kansas, minors as young as ten years of age and as old as seventeen may be considered juvenile offenders, and therefore ordered into the custody of the Commissioner of Juvenile Justice (JJA). The JJA may have custody over the juvenile offender in a juvenile correction facility until he or she reaches the age of 22 years and six months. However, the JJA's mission is to help youth become more productive citizens by operating safe facilities, engaging families, and evaluating the juveniles' results. Instead of focusing on punishing the youth in Kansas, the JJA is focused on making our communities safer through prevention, intervention and reintegration services which are provided to children and their families.

If your son or daughter was recently arrested for a crime, please take note that Kansas takes the reform and rehabilitation approach as much as possible. Juvenile Justice Reform is entirely focused on preventing future incidents and community service projects. Furthermore, juveniles are placed in a juvenile correctional facility for rehabilitation and reform only as a last resort. It is a common belief that youth are more effectively rehabilitated and served in their own community, and the courts and law enforcement strive to make this a reality wherever possible.

Common Juvenile Crimes

At the Martin Law Group, LLC, our juvenile crimes lawyers have experience handling all types of juvenile crimes throughout Johnson County. The following are the most common juvenile crimes we see:

• Underage drinking
• Theft crimes
• Drug offenses
• Vandalism
• Criminal trespass
• Shoplifting
• Assault and battery

Contact an Johnson County Juvenile Crime Lawyer Today!

While the juvenile justice system is generally focused on the rehabilitation of the juvenile, there is still no guarantee that your son or daughter will receive an ideal rehabilitative approach. There are still a number of violent crime offenses that a juvenile can commit that may not be handled in the juvenile system, but instead in the traditional litigation system. We are well-versed in both Kansas and Missouri criminal procedures and we are fully prepared to defend your child and seek the best possible outcome for them.