Summary. Thirteen sequences from the first police contact through record sealing.

1. Police contact

  • Say, and have the child say: "My child is not answering questions and wants a lawyer."
  • Then say nothing else — no explanation, no context, no correction.
  • Consent to no search: phone, room, car, backpack, locker.
  • Go to where the child is; ask to be present.
  • Ask whether the interview is being recorded (many states require it for minors).
  • Ask whether warnings were given, and when.
  • Record: officer names and badge numbers, times, location, who was present, what was said.
  • Note whether a school resource officer was involved — that is law enforcement, not school discipline.
  • Do not discuss facts on a recorded detention phone line.

2. Counsel

  • Request appointed counsel immediately; say yes even if unsure about eligibility.
  • Never waive counsel.
  • Understand: the lawyer represents the child, confidentially, including from parents.
  • Distinguish defense counsel from a guardian ad litem (best interests, not the child's stated wishes).
  • Ask: juvenile caseload experience · transfer hearings litigated · plan for the first two weeks · use of evaluations.
  • Give counsel the complete facts immediately, including the unhelpful ones.
  • Tell counsel about immigration status of anyone in the family.

3. Intake

  • Speak to counsel before the intake interview.
  • Understand that nothing said to probation is confidential.
  • Bring: school records and attendance · IEP or 504 plan · treatment records · proof of employment or activities.
  • Have a supervision plan ready.
  • Answer what is asked; be brief and courteous.
  • Do not: have the child narrate the offense · argue the allegations · volunteer other incidents · characterize the child.

4. Diversion

  • Does it require an admission? What happens to it on failure?
  • What exactly must be completed, by when? Achievable given school, work, transportation, money?
  • Total cost, including program, restitution, testing, classes. Indigency waiver available?
  • Consequence of failure — return to court, and in what posture?
  • Consequence of success — referral destroyed, sealed, or merely closed?
  • Time limit, and can it be extended for good cause?
  • Negotiate achievable terms rather than signing terms you will breach.

5. Detention hearing (24–72 hours)

  • Address where the child will sleep.
  • Named supervising adult, with their work schedule.
  • School enrollment confirmed, with counselor contact.
  • Curfew and how it will be enforced.
  • Transportation to school, court, and appointments.
  • Any service already arranged — appointment card in hand.
  • Consider proposing electronic monitoring or reporting as an alternative.
  • Identify a relative or family friend as an alternative placement if the home is the issue.
  • Bring the people. Bring the documents.
  • Ask about the risk assessment instrument score and check its inputs for errors.

6. Building the disposition case (start immediately)

  • Defense evaluation — psychological, educational, or developmental — identifying the actual drivers.
  • School: current records, credits, attendance; request a disability evaluation if indicated.
  • Treatment: an accepted intake, named program, start date, contact person — not a referral.
  • Supervision plan in writing.
  • Letters from teacher, coach, employer, relative, clergy — specific observations, not praise.
  • Deliver all of it to probation through counsel BEFORE the predisposition report is written, with a request that it be attached.

7. Transfer to adult court

  • Understand the stakes: adult conviction, adult sentencing, adult custody, lifetime collateral consequences.
  • Confirm the mechanism: judicial waiver · statutory exclusion · prosecutorial direct file · reverse waiver availability.
  • Confirm the timing — transfer precedes adjudication because jeopardy attaches at adjudication.
  • Obtain a developmental evaluation: maturity, decision-making under pressure, peer influence, amenability to treatment.
  • Secure an accepted placement, not a proposal.
  • Document juvenile system capacity and time remaining before the jurisdictional age limit.
  • Assemble school, family, trauma, and dependency history.
  • Identify community support: who will do what.
  • Address each Kent factor explicitly; request a statement of reasons.

8. Adjudication

  • Deny at arraignment unless counsel advises otherwise after reviewing discovery.
  • Confirm whether this state provides a statutory jury right.
  • Litigate suppression — custody under the child's age, voluntariness, and any state-specific waiver protections.
  • Consider competency based on developmental immaturity, distinct from mental illness.
  • Preserve objections on the record; the same judge decides admissibility and the facts.

9. Probation conditions

  • Read every condition out loud with the child on the day imposed.
  • For each, ask: can this actually be done given transportation, school, work, and money?
  • Object at the hearing to unworkable conditions and propose the alternative (telephonic reporting, testing at school, evening or telehealth counseling, modified curfew for work).
  • Build a calendar of every appointment and deadline.
  • Build a compliance folder: attendance sheets, certificates, receipts, test results.
  • Notify probation in writing before anything will be missed.

10. Violations

  • Get counsel immediately.
  • Do not admit at the first hearing.
  • Gather documentation: schedules, transportation records, advance notices sent, provider letters.
  • Note the lower standard of proof in most states.
  • Propose a modification rather than a placement.

11. Money

  • Ask about every fee on the record: filing, counsel, evaluation, testing, monitoring, supervision, treatment, detention.
  • Request the indigency waiver.
  • Ask whether the state has repealed juvenile fees.
  • For restitution: request an ability-to-pay determination · an achievable schedule · community service credit if permitted · conversion to a civil judgment at closure.
  • If non-payment is alleged, request the required inquiry into the reasons and alternatives before any revocation.

12. If the child is placed

  • Obtain the facility's rules: visiting, phone, mail, packages, grievances.
  • Get the case manager's name and direct contact, and the treatment team schedule.
  • Confirm education, IEP implementation, and who the education decision-maker is.
  • Confirm medical and mental health continuity, including prescriptions; send records.
  • Ask for the release criteria — what must be accomplished, who decides, on what schedule.
  • Visit and call regularly; assume calls are recorded.
  • Attend treatment team meetings.
  • Document problems in writing through the grievance process; keep copies.
  • Begin release planning 60 days out: school reenrollment and credits, continuing treatment, housing, identification, benefits.
  • Report abuse, medical denial, isolation, or unsafe conditions to the facility, the agency, counsel, and any state juvenile ombudsman.

13. Collateral consequences and sealing

  • School: separate discipline process; request a manifestation determination if there is an IEP or 504 plan; coordinate court conditions with the school.
  • Housing: assess risk to a public housing or voucher tenancy; get advice before assuming it is automatic.
  • Immigration: adjudication is not a conviction, but conduct grounds and transfer change everything. Consult an immigration lawyer before any admission.
  • Firearms: check whether the adjudication creates a prohibition.
  • Military and licensing: determine what a sealing order in this state permits the person to say.
  • Registration: confirm whether the adjudication triggers any sex offender registration requirement.
  • At disposition, ask on the record: automatic sealing or petition? · eligibility date (calendar it) · qualifying offenses · scope of relief · who retains access · any fee and its waiver.
  • File the petition when eligible.
  • Serve the order on the state repository and commercial background check companies.

Related documents

Educational only, not legal advice. Juvenile procedure, transfer, fees, and records rules are state law and vary substantially. Consult counsel in the state where the case is pending.