Juvenile Attorney Serving Collin County

Juvenile Attorney Serving Collin County

As a parent, your primary concern is your children’s safety, health, and welfare. However, even children of the most attentive and dedicated parents can end up afoul of the law. Unfortunately, any juvenile may lack the proper judgment and respect for authority and the law. This could result in juveniles committing acts that would be charged as crimes if the offender were an adult. Call our Collin County juvenile lawyers today to protect your child’s rights.

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    The juvenile court system

    If you have a daughter or son who has been charged with criminal activity in the juvenile system, it is essential that you and your family consult with a compassionate, knowledgeable juvenile defense attorney as soon as possible. The juvenile system is fortunately set up with the fact that most children can reform. However, even a juvenile record can have consequences that follow a child for a long time. It can impact their ability to seek employment or higher education.

    Avoid more serious penalties.

    Therefore, if your daughter or son is facing charges in the juvenile system, your family is best served by hiring a juvenile defense attorney. Having an experienced attorney advocating for your daughter’s or son’s interests can lessen the chances that he or she faces more severe penalties for their charges. Those include transfer to the adult criminal justice system. An attorney may also be the key to reducing or dismissing the charges against your daughter or son.

    Don’t let your daughter or son face the ramifications of a poor decision without legal representation. Contact the Collin County juvenile defense lawyers at Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian today to schedule a free consultation with one of our dedicated juvenile defense attorneys to discuss your daughter’s or son’s legal rights and options in facing their juvenile charges and to learn more about how our firm can provide the experienced legal representation your family deserves.

    Do I Need a Juvenile Defense Attorney?

    If your daughter or son has been charged with activities that, if committed by an adult, would constitute crimes, your family is best served to engage the services of a compassionate, dedicated, experienced juvenile defense lawyer. A juvenile defense lawyer can help walk your family through the juvenile process, laying out your daughter’s or son’s rights and options as they face their charges. At the outset, if your child’s allegations are serious enough to warrant the prosecutor requesting to transfer your child’s case to the adult criminal justice system, a juvenile defense attorney can fight against that motion to ensure that your child does not face more severe penalties being tried as an adult.

    A juvenile defense attorney can help ensure your daughter or son receives the best possible outcome for their charges. A lawyer will investigate the facts and circumstances underlying your child’s charges to determine any viable legal defenses to the charges, such as challenging the sufficiency of the prosecution’s evidence or arguing that the government’s evidence was obtained in violation of your child’s constitutional rights. If possible, a juvenile defense attorney can obtain a dismissal or reduction in your daughter’s or son’s charges.

    If contesting your daughter’s or son’s charges is in their best interest, a juvenile defense attorney can help your family navigate the complicated court system to ensure your child’s rights are preserved throughout the criminal justice process. An experienced defense attorney can also craft a persuasive defense to either dismiss your child’s charges or, if your child is charged with committing an offense, to get a disposition of probation or the least severe sentence possible.

    Why Choose Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian to Handle My Case?

    Juvenile Attorney Serving Collin County

    When your daughter or son faces charges that may follow them for the rest of their lives, you and your family will need dedicated and competent legal counsel. Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian can provide your child and your family with the compassionate assistance you need to protect your child’s rights and freedom. As the largest criminal defense law firm in Collin County, we have the resources to have multiple attorneys collaborating to develop the best possible defense in your child’s case. We are the only criminal defense law firm in Collin County with two Criminal Law Board Certified partners. In Texas, Criminal Law Board Certification, granted to only 1% of lawyers, means that an attorney has demonstrated and been tested to possess substantial experience in criminal law.

    Our firm understands that juvenile charges can have consequences that follow children for the rest of their lives, limiting educational, work, and living opportunities. That is why we believe that every one of our juvenile clients deserves the best available defense to protect their rights and their future. Our attorneys will explore every facet of your daughter’s or son’s case to obtain the best possible outcome, whether that be a dismissal of your child’s charges or imposition of probation and sealing your child’s juvenile record. If your daughter or son faces serious charges, we will fight to keep your child out of the adult criminal justice system.

    Types of Cases Our Juvenile Lawyers Handle

    The juvenile lawyers of Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian have helped many families whose children have faced charges for various crimes. Some common juvenile charges that we see include:

    It is common for juveniles to lack proper judgment and to test the bounds of authority. Unfortunately, if a minor commits a severe enough crime, it may result in him or her facing their charges in the adult criminal justice system. Even if your son’s or daughter’s charges are not transferred to the adult system, they can still face significant consequences from an adjudication on their juvenile charges, depending on the type of offense, such as difficulties in finding work or higher education or being required to register as a sex offender. We are prepared to help your family ensure that your child’s bad choices do not adversely impact the rest of their lives.

    Frequently Asked Questions about Juvenile Crimes

    Who qualifies as a juvenile under the law in Collin County?

    Under Texas law, a person is considered an adult and eligible for criminal prosecution once they turn 17. Therefore, any child aged 16 or younger is considered a juvenile under the law, and any illegal activity they commit will initially be charged in the juvenile system. However, depending on the circumstances of the case, the prosecutor and the court may decide that a juvenile should stand trial as an adult for his or her charges.

    If my child is convicted, will he or she be sent to prison?

    A juvenile convicted of a crime will likely only be sent to prison if he or she is tried and convicted as an adult. In most cases where a juvenile is sentenced to confinement, they will be placed in the custody of the Texas Youth Commission. However, in most cases, the punishment rendered for a conviction is usually in the form of probation, which will require the juvenile to refrain from committing new offenses and comply with other conditions imposed by the court.

    Can a child have their conviction cleared after they serve their sentence or after a certain period?

    In Texas, juvenile records are usually treated as confidential. Certain entities, such as law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, probation officers, health and human services agencies, educational entities, and other justice officials, may have access to juvenile records. It is often possible to have juvenile records sealed or further restrict access. Beginning in September 2015, individual juvenile records could be automatically sealed. This means that, while the records remain sealed, they are treated as though they never existed, and the juvenile is legally permitted to deny any involvement in the juvenile system. Any juvenile records eligible to be sealed are placed on restricted access once the minor turns 17. This limits access to the records only to criminal justice agencies. Juvenile records are not eligible to be sealed or placed on restricted access if the juvenile was tried as an adult, placed on determinate sentence probation, has pending court proceedings, or must register as a sex offender.

    Contact A Collin County Juvenile Lawyer

    If you are the parent of a child facing charges for a crime, you must consult with a compassionate, experienced juvenile defense attorney as soon as possible to preserve your child’s rights and increase the likelihood of a favorable outcome. The Collin County juvenile defense lawyers of Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian are ready to help your child or teen with the charges they face. Contact us today at (972) 369-0577 or online to schedule a confidential consultation with one of our knowledgeable juvenile defense attorneys to learn more about your child’s rights and options and to discuss how our firm can provide your family with the qualified legal counsel they deserve.

    Written by: Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian Last Updated : December 20, 2023