Juvenile Arrest

I live in Long Beach, California. I have a 16 year old son who is serving a year's probation because of tagging while he was staying with his mother 2 1/2 years ago (we're divorced; I have custody). While he was on community service last month, he was at a location near the community service site that had just been tagged. Consequently, a construction worker near the site said he did the tagging. My son denies it. However, he was with a witness who will testify on his behalf that he didn't do it. Would a notarized statement from the witness help his cause in the initial juvenile court hearing?

I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.

A notarized affadavit will be good, but having the witness present to testify under oath brings a higher level of witness credibility.

See if he/she will show up in court to testify, or even be offered to be deposed (sworn testimony).

Thanks lawrat... But I was wondering what constitutes a "sworn" statement; my guess would be that a public servant or "official" needs to be present at the time the statement is recorded... Can a probation officer record a sworn statement? Or does it need to be more formal like a deposition or actual court hearing? Thanks for your time!!!

Just my $0.02 worth... and maybe overpriced.

A sworn statement can be a very simple statement, preferably in the writers own words, detailing what the writer knows about the issue. This statement is then taken to a local notary by the writer who swears to its accuracy, his own words and then signs it in front of the notary. The notary then signs in the notary space saying that the statement was made under oath.

However, I ABSOLUTELY recommend that the witness appear at the trial. A lot of courts look down at, and some don't accept sworn statements, since they can not be cross-examined and there is no way to prove the validity of the claimed statement. One of the principles of law is that the court (judge or jury) should see the witness and judge the credibility for themselves. This cannot be done with a statement.

Make sure the witness shows up.... get him there under subpoena. If you fail to assure his appearance, and the court either refuses or disregards the statement, you will wish that your witness had shown up!!