The juvenile justice system has stringent dispositions for children who commit grave offenses like murder, kidnapping, arson, and grand theft. The severest of these dispositions is detaining a juvenile in a juvenile hall. Clark County Juvenile Hall is similar to a prison for adult offenders. However, children here are allowed to continue their education and participate in programs designed to boost their self-esteem, create drug awareness, and resolve conflicts.
If your child has been sent to the juvenile hall following an arrest in Las Vegas, you need help understanding what to expect. Our skilled attorneys at The Law Offices of Martin Hart have all the information you need to understand your child’s rights, parent or guardian rights, and legal options. We can also follow up on your child’s case to ensure their best interest is considered throughout the legal process.
An Overview of Clark County Juvenile Hall
Children commit various crimes, from infractions to misdemeanors and grave felonies. When children engage in crime, they are arrested, just like adult offenders. However, children are taken through a different legal system whose primary interest is to treat and rehabilitate them, not punish them. The juvenile justice system in Nevada handles cases involving minors differently based on the gravity of the crime, the child’s history of delinquency, and the possibility of rehabilitating the child for a better future. In severe cases, a prosecutor must file a petition before a judge, who hears evidence and determines what will happen to the juvenile.
Various dispositions are available within the juvenile justice system. Dispositions are more like sentences in the adult criminal justice system but serve a different purpose. Instead of punishing a juvenile offender for their actions or inactions, the goal is to ensure they receive treatment and rehabilitation to make better decisions. Some dispositions are lenient, such as informal probation. However, the judge can use a harsh disposition on your child based on the severity of their actions. For example, if a juvenile commits a grave felony, they will likely be sent to a juvenile hall if their case is heard and determined in a juvenile court.
Clark County Juvenile Hall is one such facility that houses juveniles from eight to 17 from Las Vegas and its environs. Children sent to this juvenile hall are those whose dispositions the judge has sustained in the juvenile hall. They are also children who are believed to engage in severe felonies. Instead of being sent to adult prisons, these juveniles are housed in a juvenile hall for treatment and rehabilitation. Although detained for a particular period, the children receive education, treatment, and help to reunite with their families and community after rehabilitation.
It helps to understand that once your child is sent to a juvenile hall, they will likely reform and live a crime-free adult life. A skilled criminal defense attorney will ensure your child understands their rights in the detention hall. They will also explain your parental rights and what you can and cannot do to help your loved one. For example, you can visit your child occasionally, although within the time the facility’s authorities allow. Your child has the right to treatment and medication if they are sick or falls ill while in detention.
Visiting a Loved One in Clark County Juvenile Hall
Visiting your child in a juvenile hall after their detention is encouraged. It could help with reconciliation, especially if their juvenile delinquency caused your relationship some problems. It demonstrates your love towards the child, which could benefit their treatment and rehabilitation. The facility encourages parents, guardians, and close family to visit the facilities within timelines. You also must adhere to some visiting guidelines.
If you plan to visit your loved one, you must first find out the unit where they are held within the facility. The facility has regular visiting hours for various units. For example, children in Units 1, 2, and 6 can receive visitors on Saturdays from 0900 to 1100 hours, and children in Units 3, 4, and 5 can be visited on Sundays from 0930 to 1100.
The facility only allows legal parents and guardians to visit. Your names must be indicated on the visiting booking sheet to be allowed in. Children should not accompany you; they are not allowed on the premises. You could be allowed to visit if you are a clergyman. However, you must book an appointment with the authorities beforehand. Legal representatives of children detained in the facility are also allowed but with prior booking.
You can visit your child on the day they are scheduled for their initial court hearing. This visit is only allowed for legal parents and guardians. The visiting hours are usually from 1000 hours to 1100 hours. You can also visit just before your child leaves the institution for another.
There are other visiting guidelines and requirements you must adhere to during your visits to Clark County Juvenile Hall. For example, you must bring your identifying documents to be allowed into the facility. You should also be sober and orderly because anyone who visits while high, drunk, or unruly is not allowed in.
You should not bring gifts, letters, or toiletries to your child. However, there are exceptions to this rule. You can bring eye products or tennis shoes if the administration allows it. You can call the facility before visiting to ask what you can bring to avoid issues at the entrance.
Visitors are encouraged to wear conservative clothes. However, some clothing is prohibited in the facility, including shots, halter tops, tank tops, and crop tops.
How To Keep in Touch With Your Child in Clark County Juvenile Hall
Remember that a close relationship with your child is encouraged for proper and complete treatment and rehabilitation. This means you can keep in touch with your child as they receive rehabilitation in the detention facility. However, the facility does not allow calls for children, even from close family. This is a rule that cuts across all such facilities, including jails. However, your child can call you from the facility. Detained juveniles can call their legal parents, guardians, and attorneys at particular times of the day using phones within the facility.
The best way to keep in touch with your loved one is by sending them mail using the postal service. Even your child’s friends and other family members can do this without restrictions. Include the child’s full name and unit number to make it easy for the authorities to pass the letter to them. Your child can also write back to you, but they can only send one or two letters weekly.
The Process of Admitting Juveniles into Clark County Juvenile Hall
If your child is suspected of committing a crime, they can be arrested by the police and booked into the juvenile hall. The booking is rigorous to intimidate the minor against committing a crime in the future. Once the minor is booked into the facility, they are to remain there until their case is heard and determined by a juvenile court. You cannot post bail to have them released pending the conclusion of their case.
If the crime the minor is alleged to have committed falls under the grave felonies under WIC 707(b), their case can be transferred to an adult criminal court. However, the minor must be at least 16 for this to happen. There must also be proof that the minor cannot benefit from the treatment and rehabilitation provided under the juvenile justice system.
During the booking process, a police officer notes down what the juvenile’s identification entails. These include their name, guardian names, address, date of birth, and SSN (if they have one). The child is then required to surrender everything they have to the officer. The officer inventors these personal items and stores them to be released to the child when freed from the facility. The items include jewelry, money, and shoes. The minor must then complete a document authorizing the facility to keep its items.
Minors are also stripped and searched before being admitted to the juvenile hall. The body search is done in private by an officer of the same gender. The person searching does not touch the child in any way. However, they are asked to remove all their clothes. The police can obtain a warrant to conduct a body cavity search against the minor if need be. In this case, medical personnel are called to the search.
After booking, children undergo a risk assessment to determine their suitability for a release. Offices conducting these assessments determine several factors, including the following:
- The nature of the crime the minor is alleged to commit
- The nature of the crimes they have committed in the past
- The number of crimes they have committed in the past
- If the minor has ever been put on supervised release in the past
If your child scored a high mark on the risk assessment, they will remain in detention pending a detention hearing. Detention hearings must be held within a few hours of the child’s arrest. You can hire an attorney early in the process to explain your rights and your child's rights. They will also figure out whether your child’s arrest was legal. If the police did not have sufficient probable cause for the arrest or to detain the minor, your attorney can present this argument during the detention hearing to fight for your child’s release.
The judge will consider several other factors to determine whether to release or detain the minor. If the judge decides to detain them, they will schedule a plea hearing for a few days later. The plea hearing is not necessary if your child is to be tried as an adult or faces sex-related charges. If the risk assessment returns a low score, the judge can choose to release the juvenile. The police will hold the minor in a private cess to await their parents or guardians.
Before releasing the child to their parents, a probation officer will speak to the parents. If the parents are uncomfortable with the judge’s decision to release the juvenile, the child will be transferred to another facility. However, if the parents agree and the child is released back to them, the probation department could put them on house arrest or use an electronic monitoring device to track their whereabouts. The department can also place the minor under intensive supervision or through a Detention Review & Release Program. The minor is also given a hearing date for appearing in a juvenile court. If they fail to arrive on the scheduled date, the judge will issue a warrant for their arrest. The minor could also face additional charges for failing to appear.
Programs Available at Clark County Juvenile Hall
The juvenile hall is fully equipped with all kinds of programs to benefit your child. In addition to education programs, children are provided with food, clothes, shelter, and other necessities. There are also programs offering various subjects, including the following:
- Conflict resolution
- Self-esteem
- Drug awareness
- Gang intervention
- Life skills training
- Art and craft
- Guideline to good behavior
- Current events
- Hygiene and health
- Yoga and cultural awareness
The facility has communal areas where children can read, watch TV, and attend classes.
Find an Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
You could be worried about your child being arrested and detained in Clark County Juvenile Hall. Finding out more about the facility can give you peace as you prepare to help them out of the facility and into a new crime-free life. Hiring a competent criminal attorney right after their arrest in Las Vegas is an excellent idea. Your attorney will investigate the charges your child faces, their condition in the facility, and their legal options. They will also inform you about what to expect and what you can do to improve your loved one’s situation.
We understand how devastating the arrest of a child can be for the parents and the family at large. We provide detailed information about the juvenile hall and the legal processes following a child’s detention at The Law Offices of Martin Hart. We can also build a solid defense for your child to ensure the judge rules favorably in their case. Call us at 702-380-4278 to find out more.