He broke a window, and sooooooo many ppl tell me to get him a lawyer so he doesnt get screwed over by the court systems. anybody have any suggestions or been in this situation?
Answers:
YES YES YES get him an attorney. You do not want to go into a legal situation without one ever. If you can't afford one try legal aide. If nothing else then just to keep the damage to a minimum.
it is an amendment that he gets a lawyer
couldn't hurt...get a court appointed lawyer
That's impossible to say without knowing the circumstances.
If it was simply an accident, you should have nothing to worry about.
If it was a random act of vandalism and a first offense, certainly the matter will remain in family court, where your son should own up to the crime and agree to whatever restitution is recommended. I doubt very much that they would seek any jail time for such a thing.
If, on the other hand, the window was broken in the act of "breaking and entering," then your son is facing a serious criminal charge, and legal representation would be wise.
Whatever happened to apologizing and chalking it up to being young and dumb.Man times have changed.If people are suggesting he get a lawyer for a broken window,im thinking he did a little more than that.You should just pay to fix the window,why pay a lawyer.
Honestly, if he is a good kid and hasn't been in trouble before, he's probably not going to get in a lot of trouble. I'm assuming that it is a criminal mischief case. If so, both of you go to court (and Dad too if he is in the pic) and let your son do all the talking. He needs to be respectful, polite, and apologetic to the judge. My little brother got in trouble for something similar and had to complete 40 hours of community service, and pay court costs, and restitution. If the judge asks what you as the parents intends on doing about it, tell the judge he is already in big trouble at home and has been following his punishment. We didn't have a lawyer, but it was a criminal mischief not a small claims court case or an attempted b %26 e. Talk to the police officer who dealt with your son's case and ask his opinion. The police aren't out to 'get you' because they want this to be the last time they have to deal with you. So good luck and pound this into your son's head: respect for the judge. Popping off at the judge will only make things 10x worse.
If you get a public defender, you do have to pay for it if you lose, I think its around 250ish.
it depends on where and why your loveable son broke a window, if that window happened to be part of local bank's back door, i think you really need to hire a lawyer. if it was only neighbor's windows and been broken by a basketball threw by your son, hiring a lawyer doesn't seem to be a good idea.
he broke the window, avoid court, make an agreement, you pay for it...
make him work to pay you back.
First, even if this is a criminal case of vandalism a public defender is highly unlikely. Unless you're talking about a church's stained glass window which stands 15 feet by 10 feet you're looking at probation and restitution most likely.
(as for the church window, it cost me $1,200 in 1968)
If this is a civil matter, then again, you're looking at restitution and depending on the amount of damages, it may be held in small claims court where, in most states, attorneys are not allowed.
So, without more information there is no way to tell you yes or no.
I would advise however, that if this is a civil matter, I would not advise the added expense. If criminal it would depend on the level of infraction and the damages and your child's past record. But generally, I would not advise an attorney unless the criminal matter rises to the level of a felony and the state is prosecuting as an adult.
If he is being charged with a crime vs. a violation, then you should get him a lawyer. Breaking a window sounds like the kind of thing that should have been settled with your son paying for the window and you kicking your son's ***. What is the charge?
Depends upon the charges. If he is charged with a homicide or armed robbery and they plan to try him as an adult, definitely get a lawyer if you don't like the one they appoint for him. If, on the other hand, he is charged as a minor with minor vandalism, and they want to make him spend his summer vacation in counseling and community service, I would say that would be the best thing for him.
In either case, you should really contact your state or local legal aid society for free legal advice, not folks like me (as much as I'd like to help). You can probably find your state's legal aid society by putting the name of your state plus "legal aid society" in a search engine like Yahoo or Google. It is probably also listed in your phone book, or you can find it by dialing information.
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