Utah Juvenile Crimes Lawyer

Utah is undergoing a sea change in the way juvenile crimes are adjudicated. In an attempt to keep youth out of the criminal justice system, new laws limit the time those under 18 can spend in detention centers, as well as limit fines and service hours imposed on youthful offenders. The overarching idea is to keep children in their homes and to utilize tiered school consequences that prevent low-risk students from being held in custody.

While this is certainly a step in the right direction, make no mistake: serious juvenile crimes in Utah carry stiff penalties. There are a variety of juvenile criminal charges for which a child 16 years old or older is tried as an adult. These include:

• Aggravated assault, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, arson, or sexual assault
• Attempted murder or aggravated murder
• Felony weapon discharge
• Any felony in which a weapon is used if the child has a previous offense

For cases where the youthful offender stays within the juvenile criminal justice system in Utah – auto theft, burglary, and sale and use of drugs, for example – the child’s history of criminality can determine the outcome of their case. Using a five-tiered criminal history assessment, judges can remand the child to a secure locked facility, to community placement, to state supervision, or to probation. Fines and community service can also be assessed.

Beating Utah Juvenile Crimes Charges

Beating a juvenile crimes charge in Utah involves mounting a rigorous defense that seeks to keep the child in the juvenile courts rather than adult courts and that maximizes the chance that the child will return home. While the specific defense depends upon the crime charged, it could involve:

• Questioning the legality of a search and seizure
• Maintaining that the child was acting in self-defense
• Claiming that the witness misidentified the child as the perpetrator
• Asserting that the incident was unintentional