Hurricane Katrina: Legal Issues - Columbus School of Law

4.
Order youth court personnel, DHS, or child care agencies to help the child and the child’s parent, guardian, or
custodian secure social or medical services to provide proper supervision and care of the child
5.
Give legal custody to any of the following but in no event to any training school: (1) DHS for appropriate
placement; or (2) any private or public organization able to assume the education, care and maintenance of the
child.
Does A Child Need To Be Present For All Phases Of An Abuse And Neglect Case?
No. The youth court judge has discretion to exclude a child from any phase of an abuse and neglect proceeding. If
the testimony or evidence introduced will be difficult for a child to hear, anyone can ask the youth court judge to
exclude the child from the courtroom.
GENERAL RIGHTS OF CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS
What Rights Does a Child Have If He Is Stopped By A Police Officer?
A child has to provide identifying information such as name, age, and address. The police officer may ask for an
explanation of the child’s actions if the police officer has probable cause to believe that the child has done something
wrong.
What Rights Does A Child Have If A Police Officer, Youth Court Prosecutor, Or A Probation Officer
Questions A Child?
The officer must explain the child’s rights before questioning him. These rights, known as “Miranda Warnings”
include:
1.
The right to remain silent;
2.
The right to speak with a lawyer once they are taken into police custody or placed under arrest; and
3.
The right to a court appointed lawyer if you can’t afford one.
Right to remain silent: Anything the child says to anyone (the police, a probation officer, the school principal, etc.)
can and will be used against him or her. Even what a child tells his parent can be used against him. The only person
that a child has an absolutely confidential relationship with is his lawyer. If a child tells his parent what he has done,
the parent could be called to court by the prosecutor to be a witness against her child.
If arrested, the law says that the child does not have to explain what happened. The child does not have to speak to a
police officer, probation officer or anyone else. The officer cannot use a child’s decision not to talk against him or
her in court.
The officer may always ask a child questions, but the only information the child has to give is identifying information
such as his or her name, age and address.
Even if a child starts talking to the police about what happened, the child can change his mind and ask for a lawyer at
any time. Children should NEVER give confessions or sign a confession without talking to a lawyer first.
Right to an attorney: If a child has been arrested, he or she has a right to a lawyer. The child can – and should –
speak to a lawyer before telling anyone what happened. The child should always ask to speak to a lawyer right away.
The child or parent should not sign any paper that gives up the child’s right to a lawyer.
Right to a court appointed attorney if the child or parent can’t afford one: If the child or his parent does not have
enough money to hire a private lawyer, the state will appoint a lawyer to represent the child for free.
What Rights Does A Child Have When Taken Into Custody?