Louisville juvenile defense lawyer.

Juvenile court is a different court, with different rules and different goals.

The court depends on the type of matter. Jefferson District Court handles juvenile public-offense proceedings, the cases that would be crimes if committed by an adult, in closed juvenile sessions focused on the child's future. Family Court handles status offenses such as truancy and running away, which apply only to minors. Justin explains which process applies and what happens next. Both come with diversion options, informal adjustments and services that can resolve a case without a formal adjudication. Justin, a father of two who coaches youth sports, approaches these cases as a parent as well as a lawyer.

Cases Justin handles

• Theft and shoplifting, the most common juvenile charge.
• Assault and fighting, including school incidents.
• Drug and alcohol offenses, including possession at school.
• Criminal mischief and vandalism.
• Traffic offenses and underage DUI, where Kentucky's 0.02 limit applies.
• Status offenses: truancy, beyond control and runaway complaints.
• Serious charges where the Commonwealth seeks to try a juvenile as an adult, which must be fought at the transfer hearing.

What a good outcome looks like

For most juvenile cases the goal is diversion: a plan of counseling, community service, restitution or education that, once completed, results in the complaint being dismissed with no adjudication. Where a case does proceed, Justin argues for dispositions that keep the child at home and in school. And when it is over, Kentucky allows many juvenile records to be expunged, subject to eligibility rules, so the case is less likely to surface on college or job applications.

School discipline

A juvenile charge often comes with a suspension or expulsion proceeding at school. Those are separate processes with their own hearings, and what happens in one can affect the other. Justin advises families on both so a school hearing does not undermine the court case.

Transfer to adult court

For serious felonies, Kentucky prosecutors can ask that a juvenile be tried as an adult. The transfer hearing is the most important moment in such a case, and it is where the child's history, maturity, prospects for rehabilitation and the facts of the offense are presented to the judge. Justin prepares for that hearing as if it were the trial, because in practice it often decides everything.