Houston Juvenile Crimes Attorney

Board-Certified Defense for Juvenile Crimes

Juvenile crimes need to be taken seriously. They can affect a child's future school and employment prospects. Juvenile records are not automatically sealed at age 18 but one must petition the court and in many cases the court will not seal the records. If a child has a finding of delinquent behavior for a misdemeanor he must wait two years after the finding to have the record sealed. Even then it will not be sealed if he has had later offenses. If there is a finding of delinquent behavior for a felony, he must wait until age 21 to apply for sealing and in that time period there can be no subsequent felony violations. As a child will have to report unsealed juvenile convictions on school, scholarship and employment applications, it is vital to fight juvenile charges with the effective assistance of a criminal defense lawyer in Houston.

Juvenile Crimes Lawyer in Houston

We are Stradley, Chernoff & Alford, a juvenile crimes law firm serving the Houston community. We are former prosecutors and district attorneys fully familiar with the juvenile court process. Three of our partners are certified in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

When we are retained, we meet with the child and learn the circumstances of the arrest. We contact the prosecutor involved and promote the child's previous good record and urge that the matter be dropped or at least not referred to the adult courts but kept within juvenile court system where rehabilitation is the guiding principle.

Defense of a Child's Rights

We investigate the circumstances of the arrest for violations of our client's constitutional rights. Where police have overstepped we move to suppress the evidence. At trial we expose deficiencies in the state's evidence and use our powers of cross-examination to expose exaggerations and falsehoods in the state's evidence. We strive to establish a reasonable doubt which will require a finding of no delinquency.

We are noted in the legal community for our skillful and dedicated service to our clients. We are available to represent clients charged with all juvenile offenses including possession of marijuana and other drugs, unlicensed driving, underage DWI, theft and shoplifting, assault and battery and others.

Contact a Houston Juvenile Crimes Attorney at the firm for a free, confidential consultation.