Articles Posted in Juvenile Crimes

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The phone call no parent ever wants to receive. Your child has been arrested. Your mind races. You don’t know what to do first — call someone, drive somewhere, stay calm for your other kids, or simply take a moment to try to breathe.Fort Lauderdale juvenile criminal defense attorney

Whatever you’re feeling right now — fear, confusion, anger, heartbreak — it’s valid. This is one of the hardest moments a family can face. But here’s what I want you to know before anything else: your child’s future is not defined by what happened today. The juvenile justice system in Florida exists, at least in theory, with rehabilitation in mind, not punishment. And with the right guidance, many young people who make serious mistakes go on to lead successful, fulfilling lives.

As a Fort Lauderdale juvenile criminal defense lawyer, I’ve walked many families through exactly this process. This guide is for you — the parent who just got that call and needs real, honest, plain-language information about what comes next in Broward County.

What Is the Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC)?

When a juvenile is arrested in Broward County, they are not typically taken to a standard adult jail or booking facility. Instead, they are transported to the Juvenile Assessment Center, located at 3029 SW 2nd Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. The JAC is the entry point for every juvenile who comes into contact with the Broward County juvenile justice system.

The JAC is a collaborative, multi-agency facility. Under Florida law, specifically Chapter 985, Florida Statutes — the Juvenile Justice Code — the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is responsible for receiving and processing arrested juveniles, assessing their needs, and determining an appropriate next step. The JAC is where that process begins.

Understanding what happens at the JAC, step by step, can help you stay calm, act strategically, and protect your child’s rights from the very first moment.

Step 1: Intake at the JAC

When law enforcement brings your child to the JAC, the intake process begins. Officers will transfer custody to JAC staff, and your child will be:

  • Fingerprinted and photographed — yes, even as a juvenile
  • Searched and have personal property inventoried
  • Medically screened for any physical or mental health needs
  • Assessed using a standardized risk and needs screening tool

This intake process is governed by § 985.14, Fla. Stat., which requires the DJJ to screen each child taken into custody to assess risk to public safety and the child’s needs for services.

What you should do right now: Try to locate your child. Call the JAC directly at (954) 357-5300. Staff can confirm whether your child is there and provide basic information. Do not wait to make that call — knowing your child’s whereabouts and status is step one.

Step 2: The Risk Assessment Instrument (RAI)

One of the most consequential things that happens at the JAC is the completion of the Risk Assessment Instrument (RAI), a standardized scoring tool used statewide under § 985.245, Fla. Stat. The RAI evaluates factors including: Continue reading

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It’s estimated that 1 in every 5 students is bullied at some point in their lives. But at what point does bullying become a crime? Can a person be arrested for bullying in Florida?

Short answer is: Yes, you can be arrested for bullying in Florida. However, the charge that is filed will not be for “bullying.”Florida bullying arrest Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorney

There are bullying and cyberbullying statutes in Florida. However, those pertain mostly to public school district standards and responses to student bullying, both on and off campus. F.S. 1006.147 sets expectations for school districts to be proactive in preventing bullying and responding swiftly and decisively when bullying is reported. That response can include school-imposed discipline, such as suspension or even expulsion.

The conduct outlined in that statute includes things like teasing, social exclusion, and public embarrassment. Such acts aren’t kind – but they aren’t necessarily  criminal.

Other acts, such as threats, intimidation, stalking, physical violence, harassment and theft – these ARE criminal. A person accused of bullying using these tactics would be charged under the appropriate statute that correlates to the act.

For example, a person accused of harassment or stalking via texts, emails, or social media may be accused of cyberstalking, as outlined in F.S. 784.048. A charge of cyberbullying in Florida requires proof that the accused engaged in a course of conduct to communicate with someone (directly or indirectly) with the intention to cause substantial emotional distress with no legitimate purpose. It usually involves classmates, acquaintances, former friends or prior intimate partners. Occasionally, it can involve strangers.

Cyberstalking is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail. However, it could be a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison, if the victim is under 16, a credible threat of harm is made or there’s an active restraining order against the accused. Continue reading

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Much of the focus on Florida domestic violence prosecution centers around cases involving adults – co-parents, estranged spouses, dating partners, etc. But as our Broward domestic violence defense lawyers can explain, teens can be involved too.Broward domestic violence lawyer

The U.S. Department of Justice reports 1 in 11 teen girls and 1 in 14 teen boys are victims of physical dating violence every year. This includes both physical dating violence and sexual dating violence. According to the U.S. Office of Justice Programs, targets of domestic violence committed by juveniles were mostly parents (51 percent). About a quarter of cases involved siblings, another 13 percent other family members.

Only about 10 percent of cases involved a boyfriend/girlfriend. But these statistics are likely skewed a bit by semantics. That’s because “domestic violence” as it’s defined in F.S. 741.28 is strictly limited to “family or household members.” So unless the teens are married, divorced, co-parents, currently living together as a family or had previously lived together, acts of violence in that relationship aren’t technically counted as “domestic violence.”

That doesn’t mean juveniles can’t face consequences for dating violence. Among the possible consequences:

  • A criminal charge of assault and battery or aggravated assault and battery.
  • Subject to a civil protection order, which is public record.
  • School expulsion, in accordance with F.S. 10006.148.
  • Removal from home and placement in foster care and/or youth group home.
  • Delinquency proceedings through the Juvenile Delinquency Division of the 17th Judicial Circuit (in Broward County).
  • Required counseling and/or anger management courses.

Although the penalties for Florida juvenile crimes of violence can be quite serious (particularly if the defendant is charged as an adult), the process will probably look a little different than a typical criminal case. Continue reading

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While there are laws against perjury in all states, police in Florida are allowed to lie to suspects – including juveniles – during questioning. Any confessions obtained during these deceptive interactions can be used against the defendant. police interrogation

Recognizing that juveniles are especially vulnerable when faced with these types of interactions (and often taught to trust police), one Florida lawmaker has filed a bill that would render the confession of a juvenile inadmissible if it was obtained by police using deception.

Frankly, SB 890 is unlikely to pass. A similar measure last year failed unanimously, and this one does not yet have a companion bill in the state House.

But it does bring up an important point that our Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyers often must broach with suspects who opt to speak with police before asking for a lawyer: That it’s almost always a very bad idea. This is especially true for custodial interrogations involving juvenile suspects. We would agree that they are deserving of some additional legal protections, but as of now, they don’t have it.

There is a common – and generally judicially accepted – practice by law enforcement to lie without consequence to suspects during questioning. They make false promises of lighter sentences in exchange for confessions. They misrepresent the evidence in order to get them to confess. They’ll say a co-defendant has confessed when in reality they haven’t. These tactics are even more problematic in the context of juvenile cases because youth are more vulnerable – physically and psychologically. They are more susceptible to suggestibility. This has been known to lead to false confessions – especially with kids and teens.

Just take the case of the Exonerated Five, previously known as the Central Park Five – each told by police that their friends had already implicated them in a crime and that they’d face death unless they confessed. They did confess – each giving completely different stories – only to later be exonerated.

When there is a confession or self-incriminating statement given to police during interrogation, it almost inevitably leads to a conviction or plea. That is why so many Florida criminal defense lawyers are so adamant about suspects avoiding interrogation without their attorney present. Continue reading

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In the experience of our Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyers, many parents are in the dark when it comes to Florida’s sexting laws. In fact, a fair number aren’t even aware of the definition, let alone that their teens may be engaging in it. Florida sexting defense

Sexting in general refers to the exchange of sexual content material via technological devices. It’s a term deriving from the words “sex” and text.” By some measures, approximately 1 in 5 teens have engaged in sexting. While males are more likely than females to engage in sexting, females are more likely to send nude photos of themselves. Most of these are to a boyfriend or girlfriend. But even minors could find themselves facing serious criminal charges in Florida for sexting. In some respects, it is treated as akin to child porn. Consequences can include prison time and requirements to register as a sex offender.

If you’re a parent of a teen, it’s imperative that you educate yourself on what sexting is, what the law says, and how your child can protect themselves from legal trouble.

Florida Sexting Law

Where two consenting adults are involved in sexting, there is no crime. (Consent, however, should be explicit from both sides. Additionally, be certain you know your partner’s true age, as you can be held responsible even if your partner lied about their age. Further, even if sending/receipt of such material between adults is consensual, it can cross the line into revenge porn – also known as sexual cyberharassment, per F.S. 784.049(3) – if the receiving party willfully and maliciously forwards material to third parties without the consent of the initial sender.)

Sexting is considered a serious crime when it involves:

  • Lack of one party’s consent.
  • A minor (under 18).

Specifically, F.S. 847.0141 prohibits explicit exchanges of photos, videos, voice notes, and sexual texts between two minors AND between an adult and a minor.

Minors can be charged with sexting if they use a cell phone, tablet, computer, or other electronic device to send nude videos or photos to another minor. The other minor possession of those images could be charged with sexting, but may defend against the charges if they:

  • Did not solicit/ask for the photo.
  • Did not forward to a third-party.
  • Took steps to report it (to a parent, school, or law enforcement authority).

Continue reading

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Minors tend to think their social media habits are harmless. However, our Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyers recognize that social media videos, snaps, timelines, messaging, and more have become pivotal evidence in some very serious criminal cases in Florida, particularly those involving juveniles. juvenile detention lawyer Fort Lauderdale

Snapchat, in particular, is a social media network that has exploded in recent years. It started as a private, person-to-person photo sharing app, but it’s now used to send short videos, initiate live chatting, messaging, and story sharing, as well as the creation of caricature-like avatars. The wide arrange of free filters also make it popular, and it’s used by more than 250 million people daily.

It’s also had a noted connection to a number of recent alleged crimes. Among those:

  • Three teenage boys from the Florida Keys are facing charges of lewd and lascivious battery, obscene communication by transmitting child pornography and cruelty toward a child by promoting material involving the sexual act of a child. The video in question reportedly depicts two of the boys (both 16) engaged in sex acts with a 12-year-old girl. The third boy, age 14, reportedly shared the video at school. The boy who shared the video said he had no knowledge of it, but detectives reportedly found numerous incriminating videos saved in his Snapchat account, according to the Miami Herald. Lewd and lascivious battery is a serious felony charge, but so too are the others that involve disseminating the material on social media. F.S. 827.071, which pertains to sharing material that shows a child engaged in a sex act. Depending on one’s degree of involvement, the charge can be a second- or third-degree felony, with maximum penalties of between 5 and 15 years in prison.
  • Three teens were arrested in Wesley Chapel, FL (north of Tampa) over videos on Snapchat that depict them with guns in a grocery store bathroom. The teens were arrested while still on site at the store, in the dairy section. Authorities allegedly found stolen handguns, ammunition, and a stolen credit card.
  • Three middle school students were arrested for alleged threats made on Snapchat against their school. Specifically, they are charged with making a written threat to do bodily harm or commit an act of terrorism. As outlined in F.S. 836.10, this is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Continue reading

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After he was sentenced to life in prison at age 16 for a non-murder felony, Terrence Graham argued the injustice all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court – and won. Because of that case, teens convicted of felonies that did not involve a homicide cannot be locked up for life without parole. Doing so, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, amounts to cruel and unusual punishment because youths change. For better or worse, one is rarely the same person at 36 that they were at 16.Fort Lauderdale juvenile defense lawyer

But the namesake of the landmark 2010 ruling in Graham v. Florida is still locked up – nearly a decade after that ruling and having served more than 15 years behind bars. He recently lost an important appeal in his ongoing bid for freedom. The loss of this appeal means he’ll be behind bars for at least another six years.

At 16-years-old, he and two others robbed a restaurant in north Florida, beating a manager with a metal pipe in the process. After pleading guilty, he spent one year in jail and was placed on probation. The following year, he was arrested for home invasion robbery, F.S. 812.135, a first-degree felony that carries a possible life sentence if a firearm is used. Because of the prior felony, he was sentenced to life in prison. Continue reading

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It’s summertime, school’s out (or soon-to-be) and throughout South Florida, teens and young adults are celebrating – fairly often with substances they aren’t legally allowed to have or consume (namely, alcohol).Fort Lauderdale lawyer underage alcohol

As Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorneys can explain, these scenarios can result in several different criminal charges:

  • Unlawful possession of alcohol by a person under age 21, per F.S. 562.111.
  • Unlawfully selling, serving or giving alcohol to a person under age 21, per F.S. 562.11.
  • Open house party where host knows or should know alcohol will be served to minors, per F.S. 856.015.

There are also potential civil consequences if the minor becomes impaired and somehow hurts themselves or is involved in an underage DUI car accident that injures themselves or others. Those cases will be handled by the civil justice system, separate from any criminal charges. Continue reading

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The day after a gunman fatally shot 17 people at a high school in South Florida, most of American teenagers returned to school. And when they did, a number of so-called “copycat” threats were made, posted on social media, scrawled on bathroom walls and called into school administration offices. Regardless of how serious these individuals are, they need to know that such actions can have very real criminal consequences, even for minors. Police, prosecutors and school districts are not likely to assume such assertions are idle. If anything, there will be a tendency to overreact, despite the fact that we know 15- and 16-year-olds (the most common perpetrator in these cases) aren’t developmentally mature and don’t always make the best decisions. criminal defense lawyer

  • In South Carolina, we saw a 9th grade student arrested after allegedly posting a photo of himself wearing a partial mask, holding what appears to be an assault rifle above a caption that says, “Round 2 of Florida tomorrow.”
  • A sixth-grader in Broward County was arrested for writing a note threatening to bring a gun to school and “kill all of you.” She had slipped the message underneath the principal’s door and later gave a confession to administrators.
  • In Brooklyn, New York, two 16-year-old boys were arrested for threatening to shoot up their school less than two hours after word spread about what happened Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
  • A Brevard County student was arrested after posting a photo on Snapchat of herself holding a gun, above the caption, “I’m coming to space coast, watch out.”
  • In Ohio, a high school student was arrested for a social media post referencing the Parkland shooting. He is facing a felony charge for inducing a panic.

The list goes on and on, and includes everything from students posting photos of unloaded guns to actually bringing weapons to school. In Collier County on Florida’s West Coast, officials reported 27 school threats in less than two weeks after the shooting. USA Today reports more than 600 copycat threats have been made against schools throughout the country (about 70 daily).  Continue reading

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South Florida prosecutors recently announced they would be charging a Fort Lauderdale teen as an adult for his alleged role in an attempted robbery that resulted in the fatal shooting of a construction worker at a convenience store. The state attorney’s office said the 17-year-old suspect reportedly shot the 33-year-old construction worker, who had just exchanged a $100 bill for several $20 bills. The two reportedly started “tussling” when the suspect held the worker at gunpoint, and the suspect in turn fired at least three shots, killing the worker, police said. teen

When teens are charged as adults, it’s via a process known as “direct file,” spelled out in F.S. 985.557. The statute allows that any child who is 14 or 15 at the time of an alleged offense may be subject to a “discretionary direct file” (the discretion being that of the state attorney’s office) for certain felony offenses, including (but not limited to) murder, sexual battery, kidnapping, stalking, child abuse, aggravated battery or armed burglary. A child who is 16 or 17 may be subject to a mandatory direct file if they have previously been adjudicated delinquent for one of these felonies or if the current offense is a “forcible felony” or if the the offense involved possession of a firearm/ destructive device and/ or involved discharge of that weapon.

So while some of these matters may be out of prosecutors’ hands via statute, the fact remains that Florida transfers more children out of the juvenile justice system and into adult court than any other state. The Human Rights Watch reported on this fact in a 2014 investigation. Ninety-eight percent of children who end up in the adult court system do so as a result of the direct file statute, which does not require prosecutors to get any input from a judge.  Continue reading

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