Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Wisconsin

I am not aware of any statutes which regulate police questioning of minors without parents present. In fact, it always been a common practice in my experience (4 years as a prosecutor and 28 years as a criminal defense attorney), since contact with the parent is useful to the officers as a "carrot on a stick" to keep the child talking and further incriminating himself. Local police departments may have internal policies, but these would probably vary. WI case law, however, sets a sliding standard for suppression of juvenile confessions based upon coercive circumstances which may be present. Withholding contact with the parents can be one of these. If your child has given such a confession, you should therefore immediately retain an experienced criminal lawyer who might be able to get the statement suppressed in court. Please be aware that my responses to you in the public web forum do not make me your attorney and that I am not representing you or taking any action on your case. These answers are intended for public educational use only and may contain advertising materials. You are welcome to contact me during business hours at my in Racine if you still have questions. Read my past answers at http://www.lawguru.com/answers/search/attorney/jknixon or see me on the web at www.jayknixonlaw.com.