Depending on the case, and if the actions of Jack were not the serious the arresting offices may want to set up a conference with the parents and the juvenile; however in the case of Jack a custodial arrest was made based on the severity of the case and was transfer to a juvenile detention center. Jack will now go through the juvenile justices process, and intake will have to be done and reviews all elements of the case against him. The prosecutor would proceed with a discovery of facts, in order to build their case against Jack an analysis all factors will be conducted, witness statements, discuss the seriousness of the offense, review previous juvenile records if any in order to decide whether to charge jack with a felony or not.
Once all the above elements are met the prosecutor will proceed with the case. However a court case can go several different directions, depending on the offender age, the severity of the crime that has been committed, was there an illegal firearm involved, did a victim get severally injure, was intentional, or premeditated, the case can be a public proceeding or closed. In Jack case the fact that he is an underage minor and entitles to closed proceedings. Jack will need to meet with his public defenders to go over his options of pleads, guilty, or not guilty, his attorney will go over his option, and advise him what will be the best option for him. The public defender will work on behave of Jack interest. Also in a criminal case, the offender has the right to confront the accuser; however in Jack case, the legal defense will do the cross-examination and the confrontation with Jack’s accuser.
Most attorneys when submitting a deposition on behalf of their clients will reference in their deposition to the judges a precedent case with similarity to the case their handling. The day of the hearing the Judge, Jack’s public defender and the Prosecutor will meet in the courtroom, to discuss the outcome of Jack’s case. If determined that it was Jack’s first offense, there may be some leniency, and Jack would be remanded to probation and community services. With probation, he will be a pointed a Juvenile probation officer, which will act as mentor and support guide for Jack at the same time and enforcer of the law, for the charges his probatee was found guilty of and being held accountable for. Again, court cases are very complex, and when a minor child is involved is very important to protect the child privacy, and at the same time find the options on how to hold the juvenile accountable for their actions, by applying the law and deterrent the juvenile from continue on the wrong path or growing to become repeated offender.
