Everett Juvenile Defense Lawyer

With so much life ahead of you as a juvenile, facing criminal charges can mean so much more change than it would as an adult. This may mean years entangled in the criminal justice system, or lifelong difficulties navigating everyday life. An Everett juvenile defense lawyer is your key to fewer obstacles in the future.

There is no reason to wait to contact an Everett criminal defense lawyer from Puget Law Group. We need to get a head start on laying the foundations of defending you or your child from life-altering charges. Our 150 years of combined experience could help lower the charges to something more manageable, or even have them completely dropped.

An Everett Juvenile Defense Attorney Targets the Right Charges

There are separate systems of juvenile court and adult court for a reason. While an offense may be the same, the punishments and other factors are handled differently, as minors are treated differently under the law. Our attorneys will discuss the charges with you to ensure everyone is on the same page.

• Drug possession
• Intent to sell, or the sale of, drugs
• Assault
• Sex crimes in high school
• Sexting, which can mean the distribution of child pornography
• Vandalism
• Shoplifting or burglary

When it comes down to it, a child can be charged with just about any crime, just the same as an adult would. The primary difference is how the court handles the case and the potential punishments. Get in touch with a juvenile defense attorney in Everett, WA, today to get a sense of your case’s specifics and how we can handle them.

Your Child Does not have to Be Convicted if Your Lawyer Can Help It

Luckily, there are several avenues that your lawyer knows of to avoid a conviction completely or at least the worst charges. This will prevent a long path of difficulties from messing up an otherwise fruitful life. We will discuss these options with you to determine what is best for your specific case.

Plea bargains are a proven method of avoiding the worst-case scenario and minimizing the long-term consequences. When using a plea bargain, we negotiate with prosecutors to have you plead guilty to a charge that is less than what you were initially charged with. This may result in a proportionately lower punishment and a more straightforward process for dealing with the criminal justice system.

The juvenile’s age could prove vital in how we approach your case. In Washington, we can argue that anyone 12 years old or younger is still developing and cannot reasonably be held accountable to the same degree as an adult, requiring a criminal conviction. On the other hand, there are instances where someone aged 16 or older is transferred to adult court and tried as an adult.

Different Paths a Juvenile Defense Attorney Can Pursue

Lawmakers and the judicial system understand that a child’s life can be drastically negatively impacted by one conviction. This is why, over time, several alternatives have been implemented to steer juveniles in the right direction instead of simply punishing them. These are a few options your lawyer can advocate for.

• Treatment programs for substance abuse
• Juvenile Probation Services
• Special Sex Offender Treatment (SSODA)
• Diversion
• Community service
• Truancy programs
• Mental health programs

While juvenile detention centers offer their own detention services, avoiding these entirely will be our preferred goal. The purpose of these programs is to provide course correction when a child has committed an act that an adult would face criminal conviction for. Many cases handled by a Puget Law Group juvenile defense lawyer in Everett, WA, have thankfully resulted in these.

We Can Defend Your Can from Multiple Angles

Regardless of our client’s age, we can apply strategies gleaned from adult and juvenile cases to argue your case in court, such as those used to get DUI and felony drug charges dismissed. Being in juvenile court does not exclude the methods we apply in adult court. Familiarize yourself with these so you can communicate more effectively with your legal team from Puget Law Group.

• You were under duress or coerced, meaning someone made you feel forced to commit the crime.
• Reiterating the prosecution’s duty to prove its guilt, known as the presumption of innocence.
• Picking apart evidence in case something about it makes it unusable in court.
• Presenting an alibi that makes it unlikely or impossible that you could have committed the crime.
• Asserting that you were mistaken for someone else.
• You did what you did out of self-defense.
• Law enforcement tricked you into the crime.
• Any rights violations.

Even if you in fact committed the crime in question, the prosecution and law enforcement can still make mistakes that end up working in your favor. We have the experience to know when and how to take advantage of these. Being in trouble with the law is not an automatic sentence.

Entrusting an Everett Juvenile Defense Lawyer with Your Case

Puget Law Group is here to talk on an equal level with any juvenile charged with a serious crime. Prosecutors, law enforcement, and courts are intimidating enough on their own. Trying to handle those and trying to understand the law should not be a child’s responsibility.

There is no reason the law should work against anyone simply because it is confusing to understand or difficult to find exactly what you need for your case. When talking with your attorney, you will be talking with a real person who will work to understand you and your case. Let us take care of the technical side.

Find peace of mind in a troubling time by contacting us today. Worrying about how to prepare for a criminal trial shouldn’t be your responsibility. Get Puget Law Group working on your case today so you have a better chance of stabilizing your life before it spirals out of control.