Greenwich Juvenile Arrest Trends
All juvenile arrests in Greenwich are taken seriously. The benefit of involving a defense attorney in the juvenile arrest is to get it resolved as quickly as possible to de-escalate the juvenile arrest.
These cases can have severe impacts on young individuals which should be avoided in any way possible. The juvenile arrest trends in Greenwich are important for any individual to understand to make sure their particular case is handled in a way that minimizes any potential penalties the juvenile may be facing.
Judicial vs. Non-Judicial Track
Every juvenile arrest in Greenwich is designated into two tracks, the judicial track and the non-judicial track.
With the judicial track, a juvenile appears before a judge with their family and guardian. The case is prosecuted by the state’s attorney’s office and overseen by the judge. The juvenile lawyer negotiates a disposition with the juvenile prosecutor.
That often involves probation, which has real consequences such as jail time when the juvenile does not comply with probation. Therefore, a juvenile and their attorney should fight for a non-judicial disposition that does not involve any period of probation.
The most preferable result is a non-judicial disposition, or a non-judicial handling of a juvenile arrest. The juvenile’s attorney can assist or attempt to persuade the state’s attorney to designate the case to be handled non-judicially. A non-judicial disposition is the most preferable.
A juvenile probation officer oversees and adjudicates the case and works with the lawyer to achieve the best result possible. That does not involve being on probation, but it does involve a period of monitoring, which is much more preferable than a judicial disposition.
Juvenile Arrest Process
Many of the Greenwich juvenile arrest trends occur in an educational environment. A lot of juvenile arrests begin with reports made to School Resource Officers (SROs) who work in the high schools and middle schools in Greenwich. They oversee many of the juvenile activities and episodes of misconduct that take place within the Greenwich school system. While SROs often try to mediate these cases, sometimes they must escalate an incident to an arrest.
An SRO often asks a student questions, and is a member of law enforcement. These individuals do have the power to make arrests. Before a child talks to an SRO, it is important for them to understand that anything they say can be used against them, and they should contact a lawyer. Often, an SRO does not advise a high school or middle school student that they have the right to talk to a lawyer.
Other ways that arrests in Greenwich area high schools and middle schools arise is when juveniles are heading out at the Greenwich Teen Center, at a football game, or at a local party where underage drinking may be occurring. The Greenwich SVU police officers will often question these students. A juvenile should contact a lawyer before speaking to the police.
Failure to Read Miranda Rights
Miranda rights should always be provided during an arrest, even to juveniles. When they are not read, that may lead the juvenile’s defense attorney to file a suppression motion, which may be very helpful. A failure of the police to respect the constitutional rights of juveniles may lead to a better result in a juvenile’s case if it is properly argued during the litigation of the arrest case.