Juvenile Delinquency

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Juvenile Court Defense: Juvenile Attorney

Thomas Gallagher, a Juvenile Attorney, represents young people in juvenile delinquency cases in Minnesota juvenile court. And he has since 1988. Gallagher’s work as a juvenile attorney, is part of his work as a criminal defense lawyer.

In addition, he has years of experience as a civil commitment defense lawyer (mental illness and chemical dependency cases). And he has educational and volunteer background in Psychology, and with Exceptional Children.

And these experiences help Gallagher’s clients. After all, traditional juvenile court is both a criminal, due process-oriented court; as well as a problem-solving court.

Traditional Juvenile Court

When the government claims a juvenile violated a criminal statute, most of the adult criminal laws apply. There are differences, however.

Rehabilitation Focus: “Traditional juvenile court jurisdiction” was the result of social movement of the late 19th Century. And it’s premise was a fundamental belief that young people, are not as responsible for their behavior as adults.

Since juvenile brains are still developing, cognitively, they are more in need of rehabilitation. Unlike adult criminal cases, when it comes to juvenile delinquency cases – public policy favors rehabilitation over punishment. And your juvenile attorney can help you keep the focus on rehabilitation.

Compare to Adult Criminal Defense

This basic public-policy priority helps create the differences between adult criminal court and juvenile delinquency court. So even the terminology is different.

In traditional juvenile court, we do “juvenile delinquency defense,” not “criminal defense.” In juvenile court, the prosecutor files a “Petition for Adjudication of Delinquency,” not a criminal “Complaint.” And in juvenile court, an “adjudication of delinquency” is possible, not a “conviction of a crime.”

Moreover, adult criminal cases are a matter of public record. But public criminal records can hinder rehabilitation.

So, the traditional rule has been to keep juvenile court records closed from public view. Still, exceptions exist. And the trend has been to criminalize juvenile court in general; and specifically to make juvenile delinquency court records more public. See our page on juvenile court records in Minnesota.

Two types of cases, in juvenile court

Most Lawyers in juvenile court are government lawyers – from the County Attorney’s and Public Defender’s offices. And most cases in juvenile court in Minnesota are either:

1. CHIPS (“CHild In need of Protective Services” (fka “abuse & neglect”) cases, or
2. juvenile delinquency cases.

An easy way to think of the difference is that in a CHIPS case the parent(s) are the accused; but in a delinquency case the child is the accused.

Juvenile Attorney Thomas Gallagher generally does CHIPS cases only for existing criminal defense clients.

But Attorney Thomas Gallagher frequently represents children in juvenile delinquency petition cases. And he has decades experience doing this.

Problem Solving: Juvenile Delinquency

We can analyze a juvenile delinquency case, as if it were an adult criminal case, to begin. Then, we modify the analysis to fit the differences in traditional juvenile court. The most important of those differences are:

• types of dispositions;
• availability of government records (public, or not); and
• lack of a right to jury trial. (but, EJJ, Adult Certification).

When it comes to charges of crimes by juveniles, there are three broad categories of cases:

1. “Traditional” juvenile court jurisdiction,
2. Adult court certification, and
3. Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction (“EJJ”), (stays adult sentence with conditions; extends juvenile jurisdiction to age 21).

The last two are less common, and for the more serious cases. Prosecutors file for adult certification and EJJ based on the severity level of the charge, and prior record. When they do, your Juvenile Attorney can help you stop them.

Most juvenile cases are still in traditional juvenile court. There are two categories of these cases:

1. Claims of behavior which would be a crime if an adult, i.e. in violation of Minnesota criminal statutes. Examples include:

• criminal sexual conduct, (charge vs a juvenile)
• robbery,
• burglary,
• theft,
• damage to property,
• misdemeanor assault,
• domestic assault,
• Romeo & Juliet cases,
• drug possession
• marijuana cases

2. Claims of conduct which would not be a violation of law if an adult. These are sometimes termed “status offenses” based on age. Examples would include, truancy, violation of curfew, etc. And underage consumption, even for adults under 21 years old.

Next Steps: Help from a Juvenile Attorney

Where do you begin?

Start with a phone call

Start with a phone call from a family member, asking about legal help from a juvenile attorney. But a juvenile can call for some help, too.

What advantage can a private Juvenile Attorney, like Thomas Gallagher, offer, compared to a public defender? Time spent working up the defense case. (Public defenders tend to be great lawyers, burdened with a heavy case load due to chronic underfunding.)

“Near our vineyard there was a pear tree laden with fruit that was not attractive in either flavor or form. One night, when I [at the age of sixteen] had played until dark on the sandlot with some other juvenile delinquents, we went to shake that tree and carry off its fruit. From it we carried off huge loads, not to feast on, but to throw to the pigs; although we did eat a few ourselves.
We did it just because it was forbidden.”

Saint Augustine, Confessions, 398 A.D.

Of course, someone is paying for that lawyer time and effort. This is the way a private lawyer like Thomas Gallagher can achieve good results. By putting in more time and effort, we can achieve higher quality justice for you.

Retainer meeting with Juvenile Attorney

After an in depth phone consultation, the next step is scheduling a retainer meeting at Attorney Thomas Gallagher’s office. This is a meeting of the juvenile and his or her parents.

As we begin to work up the defense case, we start with the client’s information. We cover what is at stake; what the facts appear to be; and claims made against the client.

Focus on outcome

We start with identifying potential consequences (including so-called “collateral” consequences), and the outcome goal. Cases (or outcomes) that appear more challenging warrant more legal resources. And ideally you’ll have an experienced juvenile attorney helping you achieve that goal.

In adult criminal cases, there are two major bright-lines in terms of outcomes. These are whether a public “criminal record” will result, and, whether there could be a prison commitment. The first correlates to cases where the person has no prior convictions, generally. The second bright-line correlates to cases where the person either has prior convictions or is facing a serious felony claim.

With juveniles, we still have concern about the “criminal record” for people who don’t have one yet. For juveniles, instead of prison commitment, we fear an “out of home placement.”

One type, County Home School (and similar out-of-home residential settings) seems like “the workhouse for kids,” and can intensify exposure kids to troubled peers. This is not often a real concern unless the juvenile has prior adjudications, or is facing a serious felony claim.

Seven tips for juvenile delinquency cases

1. Parents want their kid to avoid being “adjudicated” – equivalent to an adult conviction. We also fear “Out of Home Placements.” Government has limited programming resources. Your child may do better with a private solution.
2. Avoid preaching, judging, or blaming. Redirect attention to the future, and problem-solving. Beware dependency and co-dependency behaviors.
3. These cases can be life-changing. We all must work hard, fight hard.
4. Many cases resolve by settlement. So set a goal. Then litigate until either settlement meets the goal, or take it to trial. But never give up. Even if adjudicated, we can argue disposition. And judges can be more fair than prosecutors.
5. The Juvenile Attorney should help the client understand. She should understand what is at stake; her outcome goal; and why. And the lawyer should listen.
6. Social workers, probation officers, and others, outnumber juvenile lawyers when discussing cases with judges. Lobby all the players. And listen.
7. The Juvenile Attorney should help his client hear others, “gain insight” into others’ perception, and understand how to win over others, to support client’s goal. Solicit client’s personal involvement.

Juvenile Attorney Thomas Gallagher’s Qualifications

Representing juveniles in delinquency cases is similar to adult criminal cases, but with a twist or two.

In addition to his qualifications and ratings as a criminal attorney; Thomas Gallagher is a juvenile attorney uniquely qualified to help young people and families through times of trouble:

• Psychology undergraduate education and training (behavioral, cognitive, developmental, perception, social, abnormal, counseling)
• training in dependency and co-dependency issues
• civil commitment court defense; training in major mental illnesses, personality disorders, DSM-5, working with social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists
• experience identifying mental health and chemical health issues, to help clients
• compassion, empathy, patience and hard work

Question? Call Attorney Thomas Gallagher, 612 333-1500

Avoid a juvenile record, and other barriers in the future. Call an expert juvenile defense attorney.

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