Navigate the intricacies of Florida’s Romeo and Juliet Law, a pivotal legal exception designed to mitigate the harsh consequences of statutory rape convictions under specific conditions. Overview Florida’s Romeo and Juliet Law provides a legal defense for people in consensual close-in-age teenage relationships, providing a lifeline to those facing statutory rape convictions. Under the law, individuals charged with statutory...
Continue ReadingEach year, thousands of teens move through Florida’s juvenile criminal justice system. However, questions continue to mount about whether the justice system is failing Florida’s young people. A recent story from ABC News has highlighted many of the problems with juvenile systems around the country, including in Florida. Basics of Juvenile Justice At the center of the juvenile criminal...
Continue ReadingMany parents are in denial when it comes to sexting. They think their children would never do such a thing, but sexting is more common than they think. Approximately 40 percent of teens have sexted at some point. While boys do it more often than girls, girls are more likely to send nude photos. Seventy percent of these teens...
Continue ReadingThe media and the Internet recently exploded over a video showing a police officer arresting a 10-year-old special needs child in Okeechobee County, Florida, on an outstanding felony warrant. The child was seen screaming, “I don’t want to be touched” as a sheriff’s deputy handcuffed the child and took him to a juvenile detention facility, where he spent the...
Continue ReadingWhen we are young, we tend to be wild and free. Most youth do not question nor consider the impact of that their actions presently will have on their future. However, youthful bliss and its carefree nature can leave you with life altering consequences. For instance when you are arrested and/or charged with a crime you will have a...
Continue ReadingFewer teens are getting pulled into and lost in Florida’s juvenile criminal justice system. Law enforcement officials at the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice believe that appropriate and frequent use of pretrial diversion programs helped create this decrease in juvenile criminal arrests. Diversion Programs Result in Fewer Arrests Data provided by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice shows that...
Continue ReadingIn most instances, an individual over the age of fourteen at the time of the alleged crime can be tried as an adult in the State of Florida. To be “tried as an adult”, rather than a juvenile, has serious implications regarding the charges that can be filed, the associated punishments, and the effect on the defendant’s future. Hiring...
Continue ReadingKids will be kids, however, when your child’s actions end in an arrest, things can get serious quickly. A fight in school can lead to an arrest for assault and battery, a simple prank can end in a charge of vandalism, and experimentation or giving into peer pressure can bring drug charges that could affect your child’s future. If...
Continue ReadingEveryday children and teenagers commit acts of vandalism that they many times see merely as goofing around or as a prank. However, if caught, these acts can cost the child and parents. Vandalism is largely a juvenile offense. The juvenile crime defense attorneys at Moses and Rooth can help your child and family put these mistakes in the past....
Continue ReadingMuch research has been done in recent years on the effects that solitary confinement has on inmates. Studies suggest that improper and over-zealous use of solitary confinement can severely harm inmates both mentally and physically. Florida is in a unique position to rectify some of these preventable wrongs. As the state which incarcerates more juvenile offenses than any other,...
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