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- Why You Should Hire A Lawyer In A Juvenile Criminal Case At The Investigation Stage
- Colorado Juvenile Law – When Your Child Is Arrested – What To Do – A Guide For Parents
- Colorado Criminal Law – A Guide To Police Body Cameras In Colorado Criminal Cases
- Why You Should Retain A Local Colorado Criminal Defense Lawyer
- A Denver Colorado Juvenile Crimes Lawyer Explains the Two Kinds Of “Juvi” Jail
- Articles On Colorado Juvenile Criminal Law
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Law – Dorm Room Searches – Can University Police Search My Dorm Room?
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Law – Juveniles Denied The Right To Jury Trial In Most Cases – 19-2-107
- If Your Child Is Arrested In A Colorado Juvenile Criminal Case – Some Tips For Parents From A Colorado Juvenile Criminal Defense Lawyer
- Is My Child Just Bad – Or Does He Have A Conduct Disorder – Defenses & Sentencing In Colorado Juvenile Law Cases
- Colorado Juvenile Drug Crimes Defense – Fighting The Urge To Answer Police Questions – Those Are Not My Drugs
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Law – Juveniles With Mental Health Issues – Important Issues To Understand
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Law – I Am Now An Adult – How Can I Be Prosecuted in Juvenile Court?
- Avoiding Colorado Criminal Convictions – The Impact Of A Criminal History On College Applications
- Colorado Criminal Law – The Fraudulent Use Of Fake Or Phony ID’s By Underage Kids – What’s The Law?
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Law – Why Children In Colorado Juvenile Court Should Be Unshackled – Unchained
- Colorado Juvenile Law – Lowest Age Before You Can Be Charged In Juvenile Court
- Colorado Criminal Law – Can The Police Detain Me While A Search Warrant Is Executed?
- Your Daughter Has Been Arrested – What Is The Impact On Her? – Colorado Juvenile Law
- Colorado Criminal Juvenile Law – Why Using Facebook Can Be A Very Dangerous Thing To Do
- In Colorado – Can The Police Question My Child Without My Permission?
- 2016 Update – Questioning Juveniles In Colorado Criminal Investigations – Miranda Rights
- A Colorado Juvenile Criminal Lawyer Often Represents “At Risk” Kids
- Kids, Guns, And Colorado Juvenile Law – A Dangerous Combination Section 18-12-108.5
- Colorado Criminal Law – Did My Child Just Confess At The School?
- Colorado Criminal Law – Understanding Searches Of Juveniles In Schools
- Understanding Colorado Minor In Possession (MIP) Cases – C.R.S. 18-13-122 – Colorado Juvenile Criminal Lawyer Series
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Process Flowchart – ONE
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Process Flowchart – TWO
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Process – The Arrest – Summons
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Process – The Detention Hearing And The Screening Function
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Process – The Pretrial Process
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Process – The Filing Decision
- The Filing Of Charges Decision In Colorado Juvenile Criminal Cases – The Charging Decision – Plea Bargaining Part I of II
- The Filing Of Charges Decision In Colorado Juvenile Criminal Cases – How Is The Case To Be Charged – Plea Bargaining Part II of II
- Colorado Juvenile Diversion Programs 19-1- 103(44) – An Important Warning – Speedy Trial – Statute of Limitations 6-5-401(1)(a)
- Colorado Juvenile Sentencing Part 2 – The Direct File Juvenile Offender Law
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Process – The Adjudication Process
- Colorado Juvenile Law – The Right To A Speedier Speedy Trial 19-2-108 CRS
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Trials – A Look At How They Work
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Cases – Why Plea Bargaining In Juvenile Criminal Cases Is Different
- Colorado Juvenile Law – When IS There A Right To A Jury Trial? – C.R.S. 19- 2-107
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Process – The Pre-sentence Investigation
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Process – The Sentencing Decision
- The Colorado Juvenile Criminal Sentencing Hearing – Part I of III
- The Colorado Juvenile Criminal Sentencing Hearing – Part II of III
- The Colorado Juvenile Criminal Sentencing Hearing – Part III of III
- Understanding Colorado House Arrest – Home Detention Technology and Procedures
- A Denver Colorado Juvenile Crimes Lawyer Explains the Two Kinds Of “Juvi” Jail – DYC and YOS
- Understanding Colorado Juvenile Sentencing Part 1 – The Aggravated Juvenile Offender Law – § 19-2-601
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Process – Post Conviction Issues
- Colorado Juvenile Law Statutes
- Sentencing Schedule – Options 19-2-907
- Colorado Juvenile Detention Screening Laws – C.R.S. 19-1-103(94.5), 19-2-212, 19-2-507(2),
- The Staff-Secure Facility C.R.S. 19-1-103, (101.5)
- Detention (JAIL) C.R.S. 19-2-507
- Issuance of a Lawful Warrant Taking a Juvenile into Custody – 19-2-503
- Release With Services C.R.S. 19-2-302
- Release to Parents or Guardian – C.R.S. 19-2-507(3)
- The Temporary Holding Facility C.R.S. 19-2-507(1)
- Aggravated Juvenile Offender 19-2-601
- Summons – Issuance – Contents – Service 19-2-514.
- Petition Form and Content 19-2-513
- Contempt – Warrant 19-2-515
- Petition Initiation 19-2-512
- Informal Adjustment 19-2-703
- Juvenile Diversion Program – Authorized 19-2-303 and Diversion 19-2-704
- Deferral of Adjudication 19-2-709
- Juvenile Speedy trial – Procedural Schedule 19-2-108
- Evidentiary Considerations 19-2-802
- Admissibility Of Evidence At Juvenile Trials 19-2-803
- Procedures at Juvenile Trials 19-2-804
- Presentence Investigation 19-2-905
- Sentencing – Special Offenders – 19-2-908
- Sentencing – Persons Eighteen Years of Age or Older – County Jail – Community Corrections 19-2-910.
- Sentencing – Alternative Services – Detention 19-2-911
- Sentencing – Placement With Relative 19-2-912
- Sentencing – Probation – Supervised Work Program 19-2-913
- Sentencing – Community Accountability Program 19-2-914
- Sentencing – Legal Custody – Social Services 19-2-915
- Sentencing – Placement Based on Special Needs of the Juvenile 19-2-916
- Sentencing – Fines 19-2-917
- Sentencing – Restitution by Juvenile 19-2-918
- Sentencing – Requirements Imposed on Parents 19-2-919
- Out-of-home Placement – Runaways – Duty to Notify 19-2-920
- Commitment to Department of Human Services 19-2-921
- Juveniles Committed to Department of Human Services – Evaluation and Placement 19-2-922
- Juveniles Committed to Department of Human Services – Transfers 19-2-923
- Juveniles Committed to Department of Human Services – Emergency Release 19-2-924
- Probation – Terms – Release – Revocation 19-2-925
- Juvenile Probation Officers – Powers and Duties 19-2-926
- Sentencing – Commitment to the Department of Human Services 19-2-909
- Sentencing – Animal Cruelty – Anger Management Treatment 19-2-918.5
- Juvenile Parole 19-2-1002
- Juvenile Community Review Board 19-2-210
- Parole Violation and Revocation 19- 2-1004
- Colorado Criminal Law – Under 18-12-105 – How Concealed Does A Concealed Weapon Have To Be?
- Birdseye Statutory View – Colorado Juvenile Criminal System
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The Colorado Juvenile Criminal Sentencing Hearing – Part II of III
By H. Michael Steinberg Colorado Juvenile Criminal Defense Lawyer – Attorney
The Colorado Juvenile Criminal Sentencing Hearing
The Colorado Juvenile Criminal Sentencing Hearing – Part III – This part explores the nature of a lawyer’s representation of the juvenile charged in juvenile court. It can be a complex relationship – especially where the best interests of the juvenile in the eyes of the parent, the Guardian Ad Litem, and the DA all diverge.
The Important History Of Juvenile Courts
Juvenile courts were originally created to serve as a rehabilitative – more benevolent alternatives to the punitive nature of the adult criminal courts. Today juvenile criminal sentences reflect a mixture of rehabilitative and punitive purposes. The punitive side of juvenile sentencing has meant new laws imposing mandatory minimum sentences for juveniles for certain categories of offenses, the elimination of confidentiality provisions such as juvenile sex offender sentencing laws, and the expansion of collateral consequences for delinquency adjudications that extend into the juvenile’s now adult years.
On the other hand juvenile court sentences also reflect the discretion of judges who have the authority to impose open-ended sentences tailored to the individual juvenile’s needs.
While juvenile court is becoming more centered around punishment than forgiveness and seems at times to be more focused retribution than rehabilitation, the pendulum in my 30 year opinion is beginning to swing back from years of focusing on public safety, offender accountability, and punishment, to the original purposes of rehabilitation.
When A Charged Juvenile “Calls The Shots”
This always comes as a shock to the parents who are paying the lawyer’s fees for the representation of their children. If there is a conflict between what the client – the juvenile – and what the parents wish to happen – the client – juvenile has the right to order the lawyer to take the juvenile’s position.
Only this approach is consistent with Colorado law and ethical rules.
In practice – the juvenile’s wishes arise in the context of the expert legal advice he should be receiving from his lawyer. Before deciding what direction a case should go – the lawyer has the responsibility to explain the entire complex range of sentencing restrictions and programs that are possible in the case at hand.
Good and experienced lawyers must therefore know the services and programs available for adjudicated delinquents in their jurisdictions to assist their clients and their families in arriving at the best possible sentencing plan.
An example us a juvenile in need of drug treatment. There are times when juveniles need extensive drug, alcohol or mental health treatment. It is during those times that parents may be convinced the treatment should be inpatient in a locked treatment facility. However, the rub is when the juvenile wants less restrictive probationary terms that – for example- reflect out patient unlocked treatment programs.
The Colorado Juvenile Criminal Sentencing Hearing – Knowing All Of The Options – And Giving Good Advice
The juvenile criminal defense lawyer must be thoroughly familiar with all possible forms of treatment and other conditions of probation before consulting – and obtaining the consent of their client. This is the most important role of the lawyer – good lawyers must give their clients advice as regards the lawyer’s opinion of the juvenile’s likelihood of successfully completing various probationary programs in the context of the long-term interests of the juvenile.
Good lawyers should advocate and oppose – in open court – a DA seeking sentencing terms and conditions that are unnecessarily restrictive of the child’s liberty. Detention or other out-of-home placement is the kind of punitive sentences that can result in potentially harmful consequences well beyond the immediate impact of the sentence… the kinds of impacts from these kinds of sentences can include the disruption of family and community ties, a break in ongoing educational services, the exposure to negative peer influences in the juvenile jail (detention) and even, in some cases, the victimization of the juvenile to violence while in custody or in a restrictive placement.
Beware Of Incarceration For “Technical” Violation Of Probation
While detention can usually be avoided at the first detention hearing in favor of other least restrictive alternatives – beware of the juvenile criminal probation violation. Judges will issue orders – at the request of the probation officer – to detain, and commit to locked detention centers juveniles who have committed even the most insignificant criminal offenses.
These arrest – most of the time “no bond” warrants on the basis of the most “technical” of violations – such as curfew, missing school, running away from home, or using the least onerous controlled substances such as marijuana.
The Danger Of The “Passive” Colorado Criminal Defense Lawyer
What often happens in juvenile court is the juvenile defense lawyer becomes a “group think” lawyer. These lawyers fail to object to restrictions that the juvenile – client does not want – failing to object to restrictions requested by the DA and the Guardian Ad Litem because of what is often referred to as the “best-interest mindset.”
“Best-interest” lawyering happens often by “omission as well as commission.” By not meaningfully contesting the DA – GAL’s sentencing recommendations and then failing to explain the complexity of juvenile sentencing to his juvenile client and their families – the Colorado criminal defense lawyer is simply not doing his or her job. Many Colorado lawyers practice this way because it makes the fewest demands on their time. It is a go along to get along approach.
This may happen for many reasons – – high caseloads and minimal time to spend with each client – but whatever the reason – it works to the disadvantage of the juvenile client.
The Colorado Juvenile Criminal Sentencing Hearing
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: H. Michael Steinberg – Email The Author at: hmichaelsteinberg@colorado-juvenile-crimes-lawyer or call his office at 303-627-7777 during business hours – or call his cell if you cannot wait and need his immediate assistance – 720-227-7777.
If you are charged with A Colorado crime or you have questions about The Colorado Juvenile Criminal Sentencing Hearing, please call our office. The Law Offices of H. Michael Steinberg, in Denver, Colorado, provide criminal defense clients with effective, efficient, intelligent and strong legal advocacy. We can educate you and help you navigate the stressful and complex legal process related to your criminal defense issue.
H. Michael Steinberg, is a Denver, Colorado criminal defense lawyer with over 40 years of day to day courtroom experience – specializing in Colorado Criminal Law along the Front Range. He will provide you with a free initial case consultation to evaluate your legal issues and to answer your questions with an honest assessment of your options. Remember, it costs NOTHING to discuss your case. Call now for an immediate free phone consultation.
Helping Clients To Make Informed Decisions In the Defense of Colorado Criminal Cases.
Contact A Lawyer with Three Decades of Experience as a Denver Criminal Attorney at The Steinberg Colorado Criminal Defense Law Firm Today.
Colorado Defense Lawyer H. Michael Steinberg provides solid criminal defense for clients throughout the Front Range of Colorado – including the City and County courts of Adams County, Arapahoe County, City and County of Boulder, City and County of Broomfield, City and County of Denver, Douglas County, El Paso County – Colorado Springs, Gilpin County, Jefferson County, Larimer County, and Weld County,…. and all the other cities and counties of Colorado along the I-25 Corridor… on cases involving …the Colorado Juvenile Criminal Sentencing Hearing.
Other Articles of Interest:
- Sentencing – Restitution by Juvenile 19-2-918
- Colorado Juvenile Criminal Process – The Sentencing Decision
- The Colorado Juvenile Criminal Sentencing Hearing – Part III of III
- Sentencing – Community Accountability Program 19-2-914
- Sentencing – Persons Eighteen Years of Age or Older – County Jail – Community Corrections 19-2-910.
