Fort Bend County Juvenile Lawyer
James
Sullivan is Board Certified in Juvenile Law by the Texas Board of Legal
Specialization since 2004. He is a recognized expert in the highly specialized
area of juvenile law. Sullivan graduated from Gerry Spence's Trial
Lawyers College, the most selective and prestigious trial advocacy program in America.
Juvenile Law Is Not Criminal Law
Juvenile Law is different than criminal
law. Many criminal defense lawyers advertise that they are also
juvenile defense lawyers, yet they may never have tried a juvenile case
to a jury. In order to hold oneself out as a true expert in Juvenile
Law, a lawyer has to be Board Certified in juvenile law. To become
Board Certified, an attorney must:
- have been licensed to practice law for at least five years,
- devoted a required percentage of practice to a specialty area for at least three years,
- handled a wide variety of matters in the area to demonstrate experience and involvement (including at least 3 jury trials, 5 non-jury trials and 3 certification hearings),
- attended continuing education seminars regularly to keep legal training up to date,
- been evaluated by fellow lawyers and judges, and
- passed a 6-hour written examination.
The parents of children caught up in the
juvenile justice system are very concerned about how their child’s
misdemeanor or felony delinquency case could impact their future. This
is a very valid concern. Colleges and universities have access to
juvenile records. Clearly, a juvenile delinquent is less likely to
receive a highly coveted admission to a top school. Also, law
enforcement has access to juvenile records. When juveniles are stopped
by the police, they may be treated differently when the police know that
they have a record. There are several other ways that a juvenile
record could impact your child.
