Juvenile Court Jurisdiction

Can an 18-21 year old be adjudicated in juvenile court instead of adult court?  Yes, as long as that 18-21 year old committed an offense while she was still a juvenile.  Utah Code § 78A-6-103 states:  Why is this important?  Because no one ever wants to be in the adult court system, especially when one […] Read more

Teen Faces Murder Charge, Possible Juvenile Waiver In Progress

The recent case of a 15-year-old boy who is accused of killing a 12-year-old girl has shaken many of the residents of Salt Lake County. It is alleged that the teen boy lured the girl out of her home with a story about a missing cat. It is alleged that around midnight, the boy knocked […] Read more

Firm And Focused Representation Are Necessary For Juveniles

When a juvenile is charged with a crime, the juvenile isn’t the only person who is affected. Instead, a juvenile charge can affect the entire family. Even some friends might be affected by the juvenile charges. With that in mind, many parents find it necessary to help the juvenile with a defense. Oftentimes, the juveniles […] Read more

Boot Camp Might Help Troubled Teens Learn How To Behave

Finding out that your child is in the juvenile justice system is a scary discovery. For some parents, that is a wake-up call of sorts that helps them realize their child needs help. One option that some parents might be interested in for troubled teens is a boot camp program. These programs can help teens […] Read more

Facts About The Juvenile Justice System

When many people hear the term “juvenile justice system,” they think of children who are acting horribly. That isn’t the case. Some people might be shocked to learn some basic facts about the juvenile justice system. First is that the goal of the juvenile justice system is to help the juvenile learn to become a […] Read more

Mentoring Might Help Some Juveniles In Utah

In our post last week, we discussed juvenile offenders who are accused of sex-related offenses. Those juveniles, as well as others, might benefit more from treatment and services instead of simply being sentenced to punishment measures. One of the programs that is sometimes used is mentoring. Our Utah readers might be interested in learning a […] Read more

Sexual Assault Charges In The Utah Juvenile System

Last week, we discussed how some children who are victims of sexual assault eventually become the attacker in a sexual assault. Sadly, that means that children who are already dealing with so much because they were victims are now having to deal with the juvenile justice system because of repeating a vicious cycle. At that […] Read more

Utah Teen Faces Weapons Charges After Thwarted School Shooting

The news of school shootings seems to be making headlines on a regular basis. These incidents are horrific examples of how things can go wrong very quickly. When a school shooting is stopped before it starts, there is reason for many people to celebrate. For the person who was allegedly going to carry out the […] Read more

Juvenile Waiver: When Juvenile Crimes Move To Adult Court

Last week, we discussed the case of the juvenile who was convicted of murdering his brothers. As part of the plea deal he reached with prosecutors, he was charged with one murder in juvenile court and the other murder in adult court. The teen was later allegedly involved in an assault and is now facing […] Read more

Juvenile Justice Intricacies In Utah

Our topic of discussion last week was the ways that juvenile crimes might be handled. The information we discussed might have some of our Utah readers wondering exactly what the goal of the juvenile justice system is. In simple terms, the juvenile justice system’s goal is to rehabilitate juveniles so they can live as productive […] Read more