Were my son's rights violated at school

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
My son was accused of steeling a cell phone and selling it for $10. He told the principal and the officer that he didn't do it. She put handcuffs on him and held him for 20 minutes and he was interrogated before they called my husband. When my husband got up there the officer asked if Jacob was 15 and my husband said no he was 17. She said oh i'm sorry and took the handcuffs off him immediately. Not once was his rights read to him. Now she is going back to the station to file for a warrant for his arrest and then she said he will go to jail monday morning. I want to know if my son's rights were violated and what can we do Monday morning? They are taking another kids word, it's all here-say, no proof, he was handcuffed for 20 minutes, his rights were not read to him, the officer also yelled at him and cursed at him. The kids that says Jacob stole the phone and sold it is a kid with a reputation for stealing and smoking pot. I am livid! What can we do?

heartblaze said:

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
Hello. My name is Shelly Strand. My son was accused of steeling a cell phone and selling it for $10. He told the principal and the officer that he didn't do it. She put handcuffs on him and held him for 20 minutes and he was interrogated before they called my husband. When my husband got up there the officer asked if Jacob was 15 and my husband said no he was 17. She said oh i'm sorry and took the handcuffs off him immediately. Not once was his rights read to him. Now she is going back to the station to file for a warrant for his arrest and then she said he will go to jail monday morning. I want to know if my son's rights were violated and what can we do Monday morning? They are taking another kids word, it's all here-say, no proof, he was handcuffed for 20 minutes, his rights were not read to him, the officer also yelled at him and cursed at him. The kids that says Jacob stole the phone and sold it is a kid with a reputation for stealing and smoking pot. I am livid! What can we do?

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**A: what did your son actually do?

You can hire an attorney to represent your son if he is charged. You really don't know what the state has in the way of evidence and testimony IS evidence. If there are people saying that he stole the phone and sold it to someone, that can be enough to get a conviction.

- Carl

I was under the impression a minor could not be questioned with out a parent present or at least consent? Or, am i missing a serious key factor here, such as, the minor demanding such conditions? I definitely agree, you should hire an attorney if possible, if its out of your means, a public defender may suffice. I have not had a positive outcome with a public defender, however, i am sure it varies from case-to-case, county-to-county and state-to-state. At the same time, i have never been in a position to hire an attorney, so i cant really tell you the best route to take. From what i have experienced with the public defenders they are assigned more defendants then they can handle, thus, many key facts may get over looked. Either way, get an attorney.

ImBeingSued said:

I was under the impression a minor could not be questioned with out a parent present or at least consent? Or, am i missing a serious key factor here, such as the minor demanding such conditions?

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A minor may be questioned without the parent present.

ImBeingSued said:

I was under the impression a minor could not be questioned with out a parent present or at least consent? Or, am i missing a serious key factor here, such as, the minor demanding such conditions?

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Unless state law requires parental presence or notification prior to an interview (and I do not think that is the case in TX), then the police must adhere to the federal standard under Miranda.


- Carl

OP, you really need to remove your name and the name of your son from your post. You are practically advertising to the world who you are and what your son is accused of doingM.

Minor is not the right word in this context. The issue is whether he is a juvenile or an adult and she said he was 17 so he is an adult. The officer just thought he was a juvenile.

Juveniles can be questioned at school without parental notification. The only thing that requires parental notification is when authorities remove the child from the school either for questioning or arrest. A 17 year old student can be questioned at school too its just that if he is placed into custody then miranda warnings must be read.

As for your son, if they placed him in custody they should have read him his rights before asking him questions. If they failed to do so then his answers cannot be used against him in his trial. Other than that, no his rights were not violated. Someone made a complaint and they acted. Consider hiring an attorney and getting to the bottom of this.

CdwJava, Tx. does have special requirements before a juvenile in custody can be questioned. Parental notification is one requirement but they don't have to be successful. A voicemail left at the home phone is sufficient. But traditional miranda warnings under federal standards expressly do NOT apply to juveniles in Texas. The family code has a specific provision that has its own warnings that must be read, and the statute says that these warnings are to the exclusion of miranda. The warnings also must be read by a magistrate. There are other restrictions too, like if you videotape the interview the warnings must be videotaped as well and the juvenile must review the warning portion and sign off on it afterwards. Its kinda complicated and tends to make the juveniles second guess whether they really want to talk or not. That is why most police interviews are done at the school before the juvenile is placed under arrest. This might be why the officer apologized when he found out her son was not 15. He probably thought he could kind of have his way with him since he thought he was a juvenile.

We also have a requirement in the Welfare and Institutions Code that requires Miranda to be read to any juvenile "in custody" whether interrogation occurs or not, but it is non punitive. However, under CA law we are not held to the stricter state law with regards to most things and are held, instead, the "federal standard" for issues of interrogation, searches, etc. I had thought that TX was a little more free with regards to such things, but then, as I understand it affidavits or probable cause declarations have to go before a notary of some kind before they can be submitted to the court (or some such thing). A friend of mine works in Texas and he was surprised to find that his sergeants were notaries and had to notarize or otherwise sign off on any report before it could be submitted.

Interesting that they hold such a high standard for juveniles. And I thought CA was touchy feelie! Who woulda thunk it in TX?

- Carl