Juvenile Cases

Keep Your Child Out of the System:

By offering alternatives to having your son or daughter removed from the home, Jeff Rubenstein’s team will make sure that your child is either kept out of this system entirely or handled properly. Jeffery Rubenstein is one of the few private defense attorneys in Los Angeles with extensive experience handling juvenile cases:

  • As a prosecutor, he spent two years in a juvenile assignment and has participated in over 100 juvenile trials.
  • Mr. Rubenstein is also a professor of juvenile justice at the graduate level and teaches to law enforcement personnel through National University.

Difference Between the Juvenile Justice System & the Adult System:

  • “Petitions,” not “complaints,” are filed against the “minor,” who isn’t referred to as the “defendant.”
  • The proceedings are governed by the California Welfare and Institutions Code, as opposed to the Penal Code.
  • The proceedings are private and not open to the public.
  • Minors are referred to by their first name and last initial, for example: “David M.”
  • Juveniles are not sentenced — a “petition” is either “sustained” or “denied.”

Once a petition is sustained the judge has wide discretion, as does the probation department. Often, if a petition is sustained the minor is made a “ward of the court” pursuant to the Welfare and Institution Code Section 602.

The judge can then decide from several options:

  • First he or she can send a minor “home on probation.”
  • If treatment is indicated, a minor can be “suitably placed.”
  • More serious offenders can be sent to either “short-term” or “long-term” “camp community placement.”
  • The most serious offenders can be sent to the “California Youth Authority.”

The most serious consequence for a juvenile offender is that they can, in certain instances, be tried as an adult. If this happens a “juvenile fitness hearing” is held to determine if the juvenile or adult criminal law system is best suited to handle the case.

When it comes to your children and your family, there is no time to lose. Get an experienced and tough juvenile defense attorney; call the Law Offices of Jeffery K. Rubenstein to arrange a free consultation today (310) 477-2100.