Evidence Problems in Juvenile Delinquency Proceedings

Some of the most perplexing problems facing the attorney defending a child charged with a delinquency have their inception in misunderstandings, lack of uniformity and loose application of evidential rules. In order to serve the best interests of the children who are before it, and to obtain necessary facts with which to formulate a rehabilitation plan, the courts have a tendency to waive strict adherence to evidence rules. The methodical attorney wonders how the court can serve the best interests of the child and yet seemingly not afford to the child the equal protection of its laws of evidence.