Juvenile offenses in Polk County are handled out of the Bartow Court House, and they are detained at the Juvenile Detention Center in Bartow. If your child is detained, the retention of an attorney’s services could make all the difference. We at Boswell & Dunlap LLP can help you with this stressful matter. As former Assistant State Attorney, David R. Carmichael is a board certified criminal defense attorney with the expert-level insight required to provide hard-hitting defense.
David R. Carmichael explores all defenses to Juvenile offenses in Polk County Court, including:
- Self-defense
- Defense of a third party
- Lack of intent to cause harm or commit a crime
- Suggestive identity line ups
- Mental Health defenses
He and his investigators scrutinize all evidence, including forensic evidence and witness or victim statements, and every aspect of the arrest or search warrants, to find grounds for dismissal or suppression of evidence.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER AN ARREST?
Juvenile offenders are those under the age of 18. In Polk County, when an underage person is charged with a criminal offense, they are taken to the Bartow Juvenile Detention Facility in Bartow. They are detained until they can be taken in front of a Circuit Court Judge. This happens the next morning after their detention. The young person is transported from the Bartow Juvenile Detention Facility to the Bartow Courthouse. A special isolated facility has been created in the Bartow Courthouse to ensure that the juveniles are not in contact at any time with adult offenders.
The judge will then determine whether to release the juvenile or continue to detain them at the Bartow Juvenile Detention Facility. Both the Bartow office of the Department of Juvenile Justice and the office of the State Attorney will be involved. Depending on the nature of the charges, some children can be charged as adults and face sanctions in adult prison.
If released on home detention or their own recognizance, further court hearing will take place in the Bartow Courthouse, until the matter is resolved. The process is nearly identical to adult prosecution procedures except that juries are not used in juvenile trials.