What should I do if my child gets in trouble with the law?

It’s a dreadful thought, but it could happen to you.  You are sitting at work when suddenly you get a call from the principal of your child’s school asking you to come down immediately because he or she is in trouble.  Your child might be in trouble for a variety of reasons.  It could be because of something innoncuous, but what if school officials believe that your child has commited a crime at school?  A call like this might not necessarily eminate from the schools.  Imainge being in bed late at night and having the police knock on your door.  And, the officer tells you that daughter has been caught riding in a stolen car. The news took me by surprise. I was very much sure that she was at her friend’s house where they were supposed to be working on a school assignment. They also explained to me that she was being held at the police station and although she wasn’t involved in the obbery she refused to cooperate with the police, not telling them what she knew aboutthe robbery.

1. Should I contact

What if you get a call from your child, another adult, a police officer, or a friend of your child’s and he or she tells you that your child is in trouble with the law? What should I do? After the fact, you might wonder, what should I have done?

I encounter these questions frequently when representing child accused of committing criminal or serious traffic offenses.