Princeton Juvenile Violent Crime Lawyers
Juvenile Violent Crime
Many members of our society consider certain actions to be victimless crimes. For example, a teenager who smokes a joint with friends at a party is not really hurting anyone else, even though their actions are technically illegal. The same is true of juveniles who consume alcohol but don't get behind the wheel. The attitude of most people, however, is entirely different when it comes to juvenile violent crimes in New Jersey. Their sole intention is to cause another person harm. Many people believe the punishments for these acts should be extremely harsh, regardless of whether the alleged perpetrator is under or over the age of 18.
A violent crime is exactly what it sounds like: violence directed towards another party. These are some examples of violent crime:
- Robbery or armed robbery
- Burglary
- Sexual assault
- Rape
- Murder
- Assault and battery
- Domestic violence
- Hate crimes
- Involuntary or voluntary manslaughter
These acts can lead to emotional trauma, physical injuries and in the case of murder and manslaughter cause death. When young people commit serious violent crimes, prosecutors often have the attitude that they don't want them to "get off easy". For this reason, they may make efforts to have the juvenile charged as an adult in NJ. A conviction in an adult criminal court for a violent offense such as murder, rape or burglary does not typically result in a period of confinement in a juvenile detention facility, rehabilitation and/or probation. Instead, a court may sentence the juvenile to years of hard time.
If your child is currently facing charges for a violent crime, you might be tempted to let them deal with the consequences. Despite your best efforts as a parent, your child still got into serious trouble, and that can be heartbreaking. Letting juveniles enter the court system without an experienced Princeton juvenile violent crime defense lawyer by their side is not a good idea. If your child ends up facing charges as an adult, they could spend years behind bars. Your best move is to fight the charges as aggressively as possible and then try to move forward as a family. If you are in the New Jersey area and are currently in this situation, contact the law offices of Lependorf & Silverstein to find out how our attorneys can help.