Juvenile Division

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A child, like an adult, has a constitutional right to remain silent when questioned about alleged criminal activity. Do NOT speak with the police, detectives, or other law enforcement without an attorney present with you—if you don’t have an attorney to protect you, you might say something to police that can be used against you in court. You should simply say, “I do not want to talk” and continue to say that in response to any questions.

Although a child, accused of criminal activity, has the right to receive an appointed attorney, the attorney is generally not going to be appointed until arraignment, which is the first court hearing. If a police officer tries to speak with you before you have an attorney, you should simply say “I do not want to speak with you until I have an attorney.”

Please be aware that conversations that you have with teachers, school staff, and Resource Officers are NOT confidential and can be used against you in court.

Please visit https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights for more information on your rights when dealing with law enforcement.

Once the child gets an attorney, the child’s conversations with the Attorney are protected by confidentiality. The Attorney represents the child’s wishes. The Attorney will need to speak privately with the child, however, the child will rely on their parent or guardian to help guide their decisions in the case.

When you are alleged to be a delinquent child, you have a constitutional right to be represented by counsel. If you cannot afford an attorney, the trial court will appoint one (either the Public Defender’s Office or private appointed counsel). When counsel is appointed, you do not have the right to choose your attorney. You do, however, have the right to expect your appointed counsel to represent you vigorously.

A successful attorney-client relationship is built on trust over time. It requires communication and understanding between the attorney and the client. Please consider the following tips for understanding and fostering that relationship:

You have the right to expect your attorney to:

• Communicate with you regularly and respond to your phone calls or letters in a timely manner
• Protect the confidentiality of attorney-client communications
• Investigate your case (including review discovery provided by the State)
• Review the facts and evidence of your case with you
• Tell you about any plea offers in full detail
• Be punctual for all court dates and personal appointments
• Provide accurate information about the judge and prosecutor assigned to your case
• Provide advice on pros and cons of different options (e.g. plea versus trial)
• Vigorously advocate for you throughout your case

You can help get the best possible result by:

• Providing complete and accurate information
• Responding to phone calls from your attorney (remember to check your voicemail)
• Providing your attorney with any updated contact information
• Appearing at every court date and meeting on time
• Asking questions about the case and potential outcomes
• Refraining from discussing your case with anyone other than your attorney
• Not posting any information about your case on social media
• Dressing appropriately for court

You have the right to decide the following:

• Whether to accept a plea or go to trial
• Whether to testify at trial
• Whether to appeal

When you are represented by an attorney, the attorney will decide (with your input):

• What motions to file
• How to investigate a case
• How to conduct the trial (what jurors to select, what witnesses to call, what evidence to present, what questions to ask)
• The central theme of your defense

Arraignment is the first hearing with the Court after a child has been charged in a delinquency case. The State charges juveniles by filing a complaint with the Court, and lists all charges, or violations of the law. Remember, these are just allegations.

If a child is arrested and held in the Detention Center, an arraignment will be held the next business day. By 9:00 a.m., check in at the front desk next to security and advise that your child was brought to the detention center and has an arraignment. They will let you know which judge has been assigned to your child's case and on which floor they are located. An attorney will be present with your child for that hearing. It may be an attorney from the Public Defender's Office or it may be another attorney assigned by the court. If your child is not being held in the Detention Center, you will receive the notice of your arraignment date by certified mail—at that hearing, be sure to ask for an attorney for the child.

At the hearing, the court will advise the child of their rights and the child will enter a “denial” to the allegations in the complaint. The Court will decide where the child is placed pending the next court hearing—a child can be released home to a parent or guardian, released home with home-detention monitoring, sent to a shelter-care facility, or remain in the Detention Center.

The child’s case will be randomly assigned to a judge, who may assign a different attorney to represent the child for the rest of the case, if the family cannot afford to hire an attorney.

If your case is assigned to the Public Defender, you will be given a specific Attorney—you can call (216) 443-7295 to learn the name and contact information for the Public Defender assigned to your case. You must provide your best and current contact information to the Office. Not all cases are assigned to the Public Defender. Private defense attorneys – referred to as “assigned counsel” – also get cases assigned to them by the Court. If you have assigned counsel, that person does not work for the Public Defender.

After the arraignment, you will receive a date for a pre-trial hearing to take place with your assigned Judge—this starts an individualized process, you and your attorney will work through together.

An Adjudication is the hearing where the Court hears evidence and makes a decision about the facts of the complaint.

In a delinquency case, this is either 1) a trial where the State has to prove the allegations in the complaint beyond a reasonable doubt, or 2) a plea hearing where the child “admits” to charges. Finding a child “delinquent” is the Juvenile term for “guilty.”

In a delinquency case, if a child is found “delinquent,” disposition is the hearing where the Court issues orders, otherwise known as a sentencing hearing. Potential dispositions are dependent on the case and child, but can include incarceration (at a juvenile prison facility or in the local Detention Center), residential treatment, or probation and community monitoring.

In certain delinquency cases, the State can file for a bindover—where the prosecutor asks the Court to transfer the child’s case from Juvenile Court to Adult Court, to be tried and sentenced as an adult. If a bindover is filed in your case, the case will go through a different process—ask your attorney to explain the bindover process to you.

Please keep in mind that because Children and Family Services (“CFS”) workers are not law enforcement officers, they are NOT required to give you Miranda warnings. Also, keep in mind that while CFS can provide helpful services to families, they are often called to testify in Court—what you say could be used to prove the case against you. Remember -what you tell a CFS worker is NOT confidential.

In CFS cases, parents will receive appointed counsel if they cannot afford to hire their own attorney. Each parent is entitled to their own, separate attorney. The Attorney represents the parent’s wishes and all communications between the parent and the Attorney are protected by confidentiality.

If your case is assigned to the Public Defender, you will be given a specific Attorney—you can call (216) 443-7295 to learn the name and contact information for the Public Defender assigned to your case. You must provide your best and current contact information to the Office.

Not all cases are assigned to the Public Defender. Private defense attorneys – referred to as “assigned counsel” – also get cases assigned to them by the Court. If you have assigned counsel, that person does not work for the Public Defender.

A CFS case can start in one of two ways:

Emergency Custody Hearing

When a child has been removed or when CFS files a “motion for pre-dispositional temporary custody,” asking for the child to be immediately removed from the parent or guardian, the Court will hold an Emergency Custody hearing the same or next business day, Monday through Friday. CFS will also file a complaint for “abuse, neglect, dependency.” Remember, these are just allegations.

Our Attorneys represent parents in emergency custody hearings. Our Social Workers connect parents to services and help parents advocate for themselves. Public Defender Social Workers do not work for CFS—they are part of your legal defense team.

At the Emergency Custody hearing, the court will advise the parent of their rights and the parent will enter a “denial” to the allegations in the complaint. The Court will decide whether to grant or deny the motion for emergency custody – immediate removal of the child – based on the parent(s) agreement or after a trial on the motion.

The case will be randomly assigned to a specific Judge who may assign a different attorney to represent the parent for the rest of the case, if the parent cannot afford to hire an attorney.

Arraignment

If CFS is not asking to remove your child, you will receive a complaint and notice of your date for preliminary hearing, or arraignment, by certified mail. At the hearing, the court will advise the parents of their rights and the parents will enter a “denial” to the allegations in the complaint.

After the first hearing, you will receive a date for a pre-trial hearing to take place with your assigned Judge—this is an individualized process, you and your attorney will work through together.

An Adjudication is the hearing where the Court hears evidence and makes a decision about the facts of the complaint.

In an abuse, neglect, dependency case, this is either 1) a trial where CFS has to prove the allegations in the complaint by clear and convincing evidence, or 2) a hearing where the parent “admits” to allegations.

Unless the case is dismissed, the next hearing is Disposition.

If a child is found to be abused, neglected, and/or dependent, the disposition hearing is where the Court orders a custody outcome for that child. Dispositional outcomes will depend on the case and family, and based on the request from CFS. Options include legal custody to a parent with or without protective supervision.

If a Judge orders that your child be placed in the temporary or permanent custody of CFS, or orders your child to be placed in someone else’s legal custody, you have the right to appeal that decision. You should consult with your attorney about whether to appeal. You only have 30 days from the date of the juvenile court’s dispositional order to file an appeal.

If our Office represented you during the custody proceedings, we will not be able to handle the appeal. However, we can get the appeal filed and ask for new counsel to be appointed.

If you were represented by private appointed counsel and want to appeal, you should ask your attorney to file an appeal. If your private attorney will not file the appeal, you can contact the Public Defender’s Office at (216) 698-3221 for assistance.

If you receive a summons for a motion to show cause (contempt of court) for child support, you are entitled to an appointed attorney if you are indigent. To request an appointed attorney, you should do one of the following: 1) Contact our Office at 216-443-7295; 2) Complete a financial disclosure form and file a written request for counsel in advance of the hearing; or 3) Complete a financial disclosure form and request the appointment of counsel on the day of the hearing.

A summons to appear for court is an order that you cannot ignore. The failure to appear for a hearing may result in the issuance of a warrant or a default judgment.

If you are found in contempt, it means that the court has found you failed to comply with a court order, usually because you have not paid your child support order in full each month as ordered. There are escalating penalties each time you are found in contempt of court.

On a first contempt, you may receive a fine of not more than two hundred fifty dollars, a definite term of imprisonment of not more than thirty days in jail, or both. For a second contempt, you may receive a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, a definite term of imprisonment of not more than sixty days in jail, or both. And for a third and all subsequent charges of contempt, you may receive a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, a definite term of imprisonment of not more than ninety days in jail, or both.