Teenagers are not fully mature enough to know that making a less-than-intelligent choice leads to a life-long mistake. You, as a parent, know the fullest extent of what those mistakes can lead to. If your teen was arrested for burglary, it is important that you seek out burglary offense law services that handle juvenile offenders. Here is more information on what this type of lawyer will advise and attempt to do for you and your adolescent.
The Situation Surrounding and Preceding Your Child's Arrest
Most teenagers do not just up and decide to burglarize a home. There is always at least one other person egging him/her on into criminal activity. If it is not peer pressure, it is manipulation or gullibility. Regardless, your lawyer cannot help without getting the full story from your teen. The lawyer needs to know details that will help in your teen's defense. You, as the parent, know exactly how to get your kid to talk, and you know when he/she is not telling the full truth. You can make your kid tell the truth, and he/she needs to, now more than ever.
If your child was manipulated into thinking that there was something belonging to a "friend" that needed to be retrieved from the burgled house, that is manipulation. If threats were made against your child or your family's well-being, that is coercion. If your child is always a follower and rarely thinks for him/herself, that gullibility is something that needs to be revealed. If you have a special needs child that is likely to believe every word peers say, your kid is less at fault because the others knew how to get your kid to do what they wanted. Whatever the situation, the lawyer needs to know.
Figuring out Culpability
Culpability is the length at which your teen is responsible for wrongdoing. Whether he/she is more culpable or less culpable is based on the situation leading up to your kid's arrest. Determining culpability is up to the lawyer, who will show level of culpability, and the courts, who have to decide how culpable your kid is. Once that is determined, then punishment can be meted out with more meaningful accuracy.
Juvenile Detention vs. House Arrest
In most cases, first offenses of kids with clean records may be released to their parents and put on house arrest and probation. However, if the home is a single-parent home where the teen cannot be monitored all the time, juvenile detention is a possibility. Juvenile detention is a stronger possibility if your teen has any prior convictions of wrongdoing. Your lawyer will sort that out and fully explain the risks to you and your teen.