How to Prove Parental Accountability for Juvenile Crime
Introduce evidence of a juvenile conviction., Establish the defendants are the parents or legal guardians of the child., Show the parents' actions contributed to the child's delinquency., Demonstrate that the parents failed to do their parental duty.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Introduce evidence of a juvenile conviction.
Before a parent can be held accountable for juvenile crime, the child must be adjudicated delinquent in a juvenile court.
Proof of that delinquency is the essential first step in most criminal laws that punish parents for their child's criminal acts.Parents also can be held responsible for so-called "status crimes," offenses such as truancy or violation of curfew that only apply to minors.
Depending on the jurisdiction, prosecutors may initiate criminal charges for violation of a parental responsibility law independently, or in conjunction with the delinquency adjudication in juvenile court. -
Step 2: Establish the defendants are the parents or legal guardians of the child.
Proving parentage alone often isn't enough to prove parental accountability for juvenile crime.
The prosecutor also must show that the defendants had legal custody and control over the child when the delinquent acts occurred.Parents who are divorced or legally separated typically are only accountable for their child's criminal acts while the child is in their custody.
For example, if a child's father has custody of her on weekends, the father could not be held accountable for a criminal act she committed on Wednesday.
Neither a parent or a legal guardian can be held accountable for the child's criminal acts if the child is in state custody, for example through social services.
This means a foster parent typically couldn't be held accountable for the criminal acts of a foster child. , If parents are being charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, they must have directly assisted or encouraged the child's criminal behavior in some way.For a parent to be convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the prosecutor must be able to prove the parent committed an act that enabled the child to commit the crime.
For example, if a parent buys alcohol for teenagers having a party in his house, that parent could face charges for contributing to the delinquency of minors who consumed the alcohol.
Less direct actions also could qualify as contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
For example, if a father drove his child to the house of someone he knew sold illegal drugs, waited for the child outside, and drove the child home five minutes later, a prosecutor could argue that the father knew he was taking the child to score illegal drugs. , Some states have parental responsibility laws that punish parents criminally for negligent parenting if their child commits criminal acts, even if the parents did nothing to directly assist the child's behavior.Parental duty is defined using a reasonableness standard.
The court evaluates whether parents have protected, supervised, and attended to their children to the same extent a reasonable, law-abiding parent would.
Criminal parental responsibility laws such as those in California allow prosecutors to charge negligent parents with a misdemeanor criminal offense.
To prove parents have been negligent, prosecutors would introduce evidence to prove what reasonable parents would have done to prevent their children from committing crimes, and then show that the delinquent child's parents failed to live up to that standard.
If convicted, parents must pay fines and may have to serve up to a year in jail. -
Step 3: Show the parents' actions contributed to the child's delinquency.
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Step 4: Demonstrate that the parents failed to do their parental duty.
Detailed Guide
Before a parent can be held accountable for juvenile crime, the child must be adjudicated delinquent in a juvenile court.
Proof of that delinquency is the essential first step in most criminal laws that punish parents for their child's criminal acts.Parents also can be held responsible for so-called "status crimes," offenses such as truancy or violation of curfew that only apply to minors.
Depending on the jurisdiction, prosecutors may initiate criminal charges for violation of a parental responsibility law independently, or in conjunction with the delinquency adjudication in juvenile court.
Proving parentage alone often isn't enough to prove parental accountability for juvenile crime.
The prosecutor also must show that the defendants had legal custody and control over the child when the delinquent acts occurred.Parents who are divorced or legally separated typically are only accountable for their child's criminal acts while the child is in their custody.
For example, if a child's father has custody of her on weekends, the father could not be held accountable for a criminal act she committed on Wednesday.
Neither a parent or a legal guardian can be held accountable for the child's criminal acts if the child is in state custody, for example through social services.
This means a foster parent typically couldn't be held accountable for the criminal acts of a foster child. , If parents are being charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, they must have directly assisted or encouraged the child's criminal behavior in some way.For a parent to be convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the prosecutor must be able to prove the parent committed an act that enabled the child to commit the crime.
For example, if a parent buys alcohol for teenagers having a party in his house, that parent could face charges for contributing to the delinquency of minors who consumed the alcohol.
Less direct actions also could qualify as contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
For example, if a father drove his child to the house of someone he knew sold illegal drugs, waited for the child outside, and drove the child home five minutes later, a prosecutor could argue that the father knew he was taking the child to score illegal drugs. , Some states have parental responsibility laws that punish parents criminally for negligent parenting if their child commits criminal acts, even if the parents did nothing to directly assist the child's behavior.Parental duty is defined using a reasonableness standard.
The court evaluates whether parents have protected, supervised, and attended to their children to the same extent a reasonable, law-abiding parent would.
Criminal parental responsibility laws such as those in California allow prosecutors to charge negligent parents with a misdemeanor criminal offense.
To prove parents have been negligent, prosecutors would introduce evidence to prove what reasonable parents would have done to prevent their children from committing crimes, and then show that the delinquent child's parents failed to live up to that standard.
If convicted, parents must pay fines and may have to serve up to a year in jail.
About the Author
Jerry Powell
Specializes in breaking down complex home improvement topics into simple steps.
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