Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
disobedient 17 year old
my son turned 17 years old a couple of days ago and he has left home. he has done this for the last 9-12 months and quite frankly i am fed up with calling police and making police reports for a child that is determined to do whatever he feels. i don't know where he is, but i have been trying to figure out the law just in case i end up in court behind this little person. i am kinda confused on the TEXAS PENAL CODE vs. the TEXAS FAMILY CODE--so would you tell me where to find the information that is pertinent to this situation in both codes? any other advice would be greatly appreciated! thanks for your time.
-seriously fed up
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: disobedient 17 year old
Generally, at 17 he is not a runaway, and not a juvenile; but for criminal law purposes, an adult.
He is not a civil adult until he is 18 years old, and in some cases, you can be held liable for his conduct.
If there are family court orders restricting his residence, and he has violated that, he can be picked up and detained.
Since he has prior runaways, am presuming that he has been before the court; and probably on probation.
If so, he can be picked up and detained on a violation of that court order.