My Son

[Upstate NY Mom]

New York:
My son (16 yrs old)was arrested on March 10 ,around 10:30 am for Attempted Burglary 2nd, Posession of a burgular tool and Criminal Trespass 3rd, while at the police department ,without being read his Miranda Rights detectives started questioning him about other burglarys in the area and told him if he cooperated that he would go home with his parents, Well they got him to sign statements on himself .. he was in police coustody for several hours and the detectives had him out riding in an unmarked police car pointing out houses that he was involved in burgularizing , then around 6 pm i got a call from the police dept . telling me that my son was going to be held in city lock up
over night and see the Judge in the morning for arraignment.
On March 11 th my son was brought to city court , (Judge#1) set bail at $20,000.00 ,and appointed the Public Defenders Office to Represent him. On March 13th (Judge#2) Revoked bail...( But wasn't aware of this information till Sept 19th)
My son has been incarcerated in county jail for 6 months , only seen a Judge once since arraignment .. which was on Sept 19th,2003 at this time Bail was set at $50,000.00....
During all this time my son has only had 2 seperate occassions where he had contact with the Attorney Appointed to him , which was Sept 16th and Sept 18th ,and then at court on the 19th...
This man told my son to waive right to pliminary hearing at the time of arraignment ....and he told me that he waived right to indictment on my sons behalf .... thats all the information he has given to my son or me ... since then my son has turned 17, and now the public defender has told me that he doesnt have to deal with me that he represents my son. My son has been incarserated for the past 6 months...this attorney knew bail had been revoked and never submitted a motion for bail till I told him if he wasnt going to do his job that I would go to the news media because i can not afford another attorney... then wow theres a bail hearing .I also told him he needed to have the statement my son signed on himself ,submited as evidence to be supressed ...Anyways any help with this matter will be greatly appreciated ... I do feel my son does deserve consequences for his actions ,but He also has Rights if being charged ,where do i go for help? also with the attorney ....
Because he is dealing with a minor does he have to consult with me ??? and any other advice will help ......thanx upstate mom

 

[momof3kiddos]

I am not an attorney but I feel bad that no one has taken the time to answer your questions. IMHO, I think your son's rights have definitely been violated and the authorities should not be able to use ANYTHING your son has said against him in a court of law because they did not read him his Miranda Rights. Also, I believe if a minor is in *custody*, which means he is NOT free to leave, then parents or an attorney are supposed to be notified before they can question the minor. Someone who knows the law will hopefully jump in here and correct me if I'm wrong, but you do need to do your homework because I don't believe that any of this sounds right or legal. Good luck.

 

[sdstrooper]

He doesn't need to be read his rights for his original crime if he was caught in the act. However, he should have been read his rights before confessing to the other crimes. Since he is a minor, they should have at least made an attempt to contact you.

 

[Upstate NY Mom]

Hey I wanna say thanx for your response... I was never contacted till after the fact when they told me he was being held over night in city lock up,and that he'd see the judge in the morning for arraignment!!!
Where do I go from here?
Who do I contact... I can not afford another attorney, and the Public Pretender doesnt seem like he's doing his job .... it took him 6 months to file for a bail hearring ??
And the only reason why that is , I told him if he wasnt going to do his job that i'd involve the news media!!!
Now the P/d office refuses to talk to me , they say they represent my son not me!!!
Because he is still a minor ... Do they have to keep me filled in on whats going on?

 

[calatty]

Except the answer is wrong. There is no caught in the act exception to Miranda requirements. If the police have him in custody and are questioning him, they must read him his rights. The question is whether the police admit they didn't Mirandize him or claim that they did. If they say they did, then the judge will believe them and not your son and there may be no point in moving to suppress the statement.

It is not uncommon for it to take months or even well over a year to get to trial, especially in a case involving multiple counts. It is also not uncommon for public defenders not to spend a lot of time holding the hands of their clients and their clients' parents. Once they get the basic story from the client, what really matters is what evidence the prosecution has and how to meet it. He doesn't have an obligation to consult with you either, particularly with you making threats and telling him how to do his job. Public defenders are very busy attorneys and they have to focus on their essential tasks.

There are a number of reasons the attorney might have waived a preliminary hearing and not asked for a bail hearing. From what you say, bail was increased, so he may have determined it is pointless to ask for a decrease, or that it is unlikely, given the charges, that he could bail down to the point at which you could afford it.

 

[Upstate NY Mom]

I'm not asking that the public PRETENDER to hold my hand, but if he represents my son then he should be dealing with my son, not make my son sit in county Jail for 6 months and not even talk to this kid. the public Pretender should be makeing him(my son) aware of whats going on with his case. And Ive talked to a few REAL Attorneys and because my son is a MINOR they have to deal with me!!! And also waiver of plimainary Hearring is a WHOLE LOT DIFFERENT than waiver of Indictment (by a grand Jury) .... and this Public Pretender said he waived right to Indictment on my sons behalf.... well thats impossible when waiver of indictment has to be at the request of the defendant... in Court!!! Now can you explain the public Pretenders reason for that?

 

[HomeGuru]

I'm not asking that the public PRETENDER to hold my hand, but if he represents my son then he should be dealing with my son, not make my son sit in county Jail for 6 months and not even talk to this kid. the public Pretender should be makeing him(my son) aware of whats going on with his case. And Ive talked to a few REAL Attorneys and because my son is a MINOR they have to deal with me!!! And also waiver of plimainary Hearring is a WHOLE LOT DIFFERENT than waiver of Indictment (by a grand Jury) .... and this Public Pretender said he waived right to Indictment on my sons behalf.... well thats impossible when waiver of indictment has to be at the request of the defendant... in Court!!! Now can you explain the public Pretenders reason for that?

**A: I totally agree with you but you missed one important item. The Public Pretender is just pretending to be an attorney and pretending to be real busy with numerous cases. The Pretender is not a real attorney, just pretending to be a real attorney.

 

[HomeGuru]

Dear U NY Mom,
if you have $1000, you could demand a grand jury.