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A 15-year-old in Hagerstown is pulled out of class by the school resource officer and taken to a room to answer questions about a stolen phone. Maryland has a specific rule for this moment. Under the state's Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, the officer may not start a custodial interrogation (questioning while the young person is not free to leave) until the child has talked with a lawyer.
Questioning: a lawyer first, and a call to your parent
Before a custodial interrogation of anyone under 18, a Maryland officer must do two things. First, the child must consult with a lawyer, either one the family hires or one from the Office of the Public Defender. The talk is confidential and can happen in person, by phone, or by video. Second, the officer must make a real effort to tell a parent, guardian, or custodian that the child will be questioned.
The lawyer consultation cannot be waived, which means a child cannot sign it away. It applies to school resource officers, and it applies even if the child is charged as an adult. There is one narrow exception: an officer may ask only the questions needed to stop an immediate threat to public safety.
If an officer willfully skips these steps, a court will presume that the child's statement cannot be used against them, unless the state proves with clear and convincing evidence that it was given knowingly and voluntarily.
Who goes to juvenile court, and when a case starts in adult court
In Maryland, a child is anyone under 18. Juvenile court generally handles delinquency cases (the juvenile version of a criminal charge) for children who are at least 13. A child who is 10, 11, or 12 can go to juvenile court only for a short list of serious acts, such as a crime of violence or certain gun offenses. A child under 13 may not be charged with a crime.
Some cases start in adult court instead. That includes a child 14 or older accused of a crime punishable by life in prison, and a child 16 or older accused of certain listed crimes, such as carjacking, first-degree assault, or second-degree murder. Even then, a judge can order the case moved to juvenile court.
Juvenile court still has to be fair. In In re Gault (1967), the Supreme Court held that young people in delinquency cases have due process rights, including notice of the charges and the right to a lawyer.
Records, curfews, and where to get a lawyer
A juvenile record in Maryland can be expunged, meaning erased from court and police files, by filing a petition in the court that handled the case. In general the person must be at least 18, two years must have passed since the last action in the case, they must have no more than one delinquency finding and no later conviction, and they must have paid any restitution. Some offenses, including crimes of violence and felonies, do not qualify.
We could not confirm a statewide youth curfew in Maryland. Check your county or city code for local hours.
If you or your child is being questioned or charged, ask for a lawyer from the Office of the Public Defender. It is the office Maryland law names to provide lawyers for children in custody.
기억하세요
- Maryland police must let a child consult a lawyer before a custodial interrogation, and the child cannot waive that right.
- Juvenile court covers children under 18, generally from age 13; no one under 13 can be charged with a crime.
- Some cases for teens 14 and up, or 16 and up, start in adult court, but a judge can move them to juvenile court.
- After 18, many juvenile records can be expunged by petition; the Office of the Public Defender provides lawyers for children being questioned.
출처
- Maryland General Assembly: Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, 3-8A-14.2 (interrogation of a child) (새 탭에서 열림)
- Maryland General Assembly: Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, 3-8A-03 (juvenile court jurisdiction) (새 탭에서 열림)
- Maryland General Assembly: Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, 3-8A-27.1 (expungement of juvenile records) (새 탭에서 열림)
- Legal Information Institute: In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967) (새 탭에서 열림)
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