On occasion, the County Court Law is called upon to preside over a case where a child between the ages of 10 and 16 has been charged with a crime, either a misdemeanor or a felony.  The Texas juvenile justice system is an odd mix of civil and criminal law.  In fact, juvenile cases are considered to be civil cases, and many of the same rules which apply in civil cases also apply in juvenile cases.  On the other hand, some of the rules in juvenile cases are criminal rules.  Jury trials are conducted as in civil cases with some criminal rules mixed in.  Juveniles are not found guilty, they are “adjudicated”.  They do not get “sentenced” like an adult; rather they face a “disposition” hearing.  Appeals in juvenile cases are governed by civil rules of appellate procedure.  There are numerous other special rules which apply in juvenile cases which do not exist in the adult criminal world.  Federal law also impacts on a judge’s decision in a juvenile case, especially where the judge wishes to place a juvenile outside his home such as in a boot camp, rehabilitation program or the Texas Youth Commission.

As a general rule, a juvenile may be charged with any crime that may be brought against an adult.  A juvenile has the same right to a jury trial as an adult has.  For most cases, including felony cases, a juvenile’s trial is held in a county level court, including the County Court Law.  In some serious cases, the County Attorney may seek to “certify” the child trial as an adult and the County Court Law  may be asked to make that certification decision.  Once certified to stand trial as an adult, the juvenile is treated as an adult for all purposes, and if he or she is charged with a felony, the case will be transferred to the District Court for trial or plea as appropriate.

There is an ever-increasing number of juvenile cases being filed in Lamar County.  Because of this as well as the complex and special rules which apply to juvenile cases, it is important that a County Court Law judge who hears these cases have the training and experience to do so.  Bill is one of the fewer than 100 attorneys who is Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Juvenile Law.  He has extensive experience in the trial of juvenile matters as both prosecutor and defense counsel.