For too long, criminal charges against juvenile offenders have been treated by prosecutors and many public defenders as not needing the same vigorous defense and legal scrutiny as criminal charges against adults. While it is true that juvenile cases are technically classified as civil matters, the long term effects of many juvenile cases can harm a young person’s future much like the effects of an adult criminal conviction. While in general the Juvenile Justice Code provides lesser penalties and a greater focus on rehabilitation, juvenile adjudications can carry serious consequences, including ongoing offender registration, creating criminal history records which can enhance sentences for future convictions, complicating the ability to vote or serve in the military, and supervision requirements which create logistical and financial burdens on juveniles and their families. Our office spends as much time and attention advocating for juvenile respondents as we would for adult criminal defendants.
The impact of juvenile prosecution can also worsen inequities that already exist in society. In 2006, the National Mental Health Association reported that the prevalence of disruptive behavior disorders among youth in juvenile justice systems is between 30 percent and 50 percent. Moreover, minority youth are disproportionately represented throughout juvenile justice systems in nearly every state in the nation. In an attempt to address the endemic “school to prison” pipeline, the Kansas Legislature recently passed Senate Bill 367. This bill includes a series of measures designed to reduce formal referrals to law enforcement, minimize pre-adjudication detention, and make it more difficult to transfer juvenile offenders to adult courts.
Despite Senate Bill 367’s measures to improve treatment of juvenile defendants, the risk to the future of a young person is still too high to face juvenile charges without the assistance of competent counsel. In particular, our office has experience in working with special needs children and their families who are facing criminal and juvenile charges, and we have a strong record of obtaining favorable results for juvenile clients.