Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

adjudication hearing for seventeen year old son

In June of 04 my son, age 17, was stopped in his car after he put a firecracker into a mailbox. The mailbox owner is filing the following charges against him. Count one Firworks possession did use the following items: firecrackers; contrary to MCL 750.243a. Count 2 malicious destruction of personal property less that $200. did willfully and maliciously destroy or injure Mailbox the personal property of BM and the amount of destruction or injury was less that $200 contrary to MCL 750.377a(1)(d) The police report states that no damage occurred to the mailbox, my son has never been in trouble befor. Do I need a lawyer for an adjudication hearing?


Asked on 9/28/04, 2:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Regina Mullen Legal Data Services, PLC

Re: adjudication hearing for seventeen year old son

Any time before you go before a court, you need a lawyer's advice. Whether he attends court with you is not as important, but you need to know whether there is room to bargain, whether the evidence against your son is even usable (if there is no eyewitness testimony, why on earth would anyone confess to a crime??). If your son was smart and didn't admit to anything, a lawyer may be able to get the charges reduced or thrown out. Since he is 17, he might be tried as an adult, and the penalties assessed as if he were an adult. Finally, if you can keep it in juvenile proceedings, then you need to do so and try for a sentence that will enable his record to be wiped clean if he stays out of trouble. Yes, you need legal advice.

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Answered on 9/28/04, 2:58 pm


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