Juvenile Justice: Establishing the Attorney-Client Relationship

• NCJ Number: 116916
• Journal: Criminal Justice Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1989) Pages: 26-30
• Author(s): R E Shepherd
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 5 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Training (Aid/Material)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: This is the first in a three-part series on the attorney-client relationship in juvenile proceedings, with the remainder of the series to be published throughout the next year.

Annotation

This first of a three-part series on the attorney-juvenile client relationship instructs attorneys in the conduct of the initial client interview.

Abstract

The attorney should contact the juvenile and conduct an initial interview as soon as possible after entering the case. The initial interview should be private, without the parents. After concluding the 'ice breaking phase' of the interview, the attorney should explain to the juvenile in concrete terms the attorney's role and relationship with the juvenile, followed by an explanation of how the interview is to be conducted. The juvenile should be given an opportunity to react to the procedure. The information-gathering portion of the interview should begin with a simple open-ended question that elicits a narrative discussion of facts pertinent to the case. Silences and pauses must be tolerated even more than with an adult. Attorney negative reactions to what the juvenile says must be avoided. The attorney should be aware of the juvenile's nonverbal communication. Questions by the attorney should be directed at specifics. The checklist accompanying this article details the social data which should be obtained from the juvenile early in the process.