A pre-recorded streaming video replay of July 2019 webcast, Representing the Juvenile Criminal Defendant: Navigating the Juvenile Justice System.
Topics Covered
Representing a juvenile is very different from representing an adult.
- Understand the structure of the juvenile justice system
- Learn the many dispositional alternatives available
- Hear what the most important players—judge, probation officer, and GAL—are looking for
- Gain valuable best practices and tips for effective representation
Every juvenile who commits an offense in Virginia—misdemeanor, felony, or traffic offense—appears before the Juvenile and Domestic Relations (J&DR) District Court. Like the other district courts, the J&DR court shares many of the characteristics of circuit courts, but with no jury and limited discovery among other differences. Even more, the J&DR has an additional duty to protect the confidentiality and privacy of juveniles and their families, and to emphasize treatment and rehabilitation rather than punishment. The options available to the alleged or adjudged delinquent minor are therefore much broader than those offered to an adult in any other forum. The attorney who doesn’t understand all these options, and use them to the client’s advantage, is missing important opportunities.
This seminar will uncover all the options, from the detention hearing to ultimate disposition, with a focus on the available dispositional alternatives offered by many jurisdictions. With a faculty offering important perspectives—judge, probation officer, guardian ad litem, and criminal defense lawyer—you are sure to learn how to represent, or if already experienced, represent better, the juvenile criminal defendant.
Among the topics to be discussed:
- Special considerations during adjudication, including infancy and competency at the juvenile level
- Trial of a juvenile as an adult
- The role of the guardian ad litem in juvenile criminal cases
- The enhanced role of the probation officer
- The dispositional alternatives available to juvenile defendants