The Palo Alto Weekly partnered with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for “Your Kids and the Law,” a panel discussion on the juvenile justice system on Monday, Sept. 18. Watch the talk here.
About 20 people gathered for the 7 p.m. event at Mitchell Park Community Center, where they heard remarks from Jay Boyarsky, the county’s Chief Assistant District Attorney; LaRon Dennis, supervising deputy district attorney for the Juvenile Justice Unit; and Nate Wandruff, an investigator at the District Attorney’s Office and former Mountain View police officer. Weekly education and youth reporter Elena Kadvany moderated the conversation.
The talk covered a variety of topics surrounding juvenile cases including:
• The differences between how crimes are prosecuted for adults and juveniles.
• How investigators and probation officers deal with children accused of crimes.
• What information can be disclosed or kept confidential.
• Common questions parents ask if their child is accused of a crime.
• Suspects’ rights.
• The factors considered at sentencing.
• Rehabilitation and diversion programs.