NJ Family Division Defense Attorney | Juvenile Delinquency Cases
Your child was taken into custody. Maybe the school called, or the police showed up at your door. You're being told it's "juvenile court" and focused on "rehabilitation." Everything about how this is framed makes it sound like the system is designed to help.
That framing is a trap.
The New Jersey Family Division calls itself a rehabilitation system - but here's what nobody tells you. 96% of juveniles waived to adult court get incarcerated. The "rehabilitation" system has a 77% recidivism rate. DNA collection is mandatory for all adjudications. One judge - no jury - decides your child's fate. We've seen families destroyed because they believed the friendly language.
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. We handle juvenile delinquency defense in New Jersey's Family Division. This article tells you what the system won't - and what you need to do immediately.
You're scared. You should be. But understanding what you're actually facing gives you the ability to fight back - and we're here to help you do exactly that.
The "Rehabilitation" System That Puts Kids in Prison
New Jersey's Code of Juvenile Justice uses careful language. Juveniles aren't "arrested" - they're "taken into custody." They're not "convicted" - they're "adjudicated delinquent." The Code explicitly states no "civil disabilities" shall be imposed. Sounds protective.
But here's what the language obscures. If your child is adjudicated delinquent for an act that would be a crime if committed by an adult, DNA collection is mandatory. Fingerprints are mandatory. That information goes into state databases. This isn't optional - it occures automaticaly once the adjudication happens. The "not a conviction" language dosent stop any of this.
The recidivism data tells the real story. According to the NJ Attorney General, 77% of youth released from state juvenile facilities experience a new court filing or arrest within three years. There system that's supposed to "rehabilitate" fails three out of four kids who go through it.
Unlike adult criminal court, juveniles have no right to a jury trial. Completley none. One Family Division judge hears the case, weighs the evidence, and decides guilt or innocence. Your child dosent get twelve peers who have to agree unanimously. One person decides everything - and if that judge is having a bad day, your in trouble.
The system says "no civil disabilities" but Megan's Law registration applies to juveniles adjudicated for sex offenses. Aggravated assault adjudications have zero disclosure protection - anyone whos allowed to ask can find out. "Not a conviction" dosent mean what parents think its means.
This matters because parents walk into Family Court thinking the worst case is some counseling and community service. The actualy worst case is DNA in a database, your child on a registry, and a record that shows up when they apply for college or jobs.
The First 48 Hours: Where Cases Are Won or Lost
If your child is detained, the court holds a hearing within 48 hours. Not 48 business hours. Forty-eight actual hours - including weekends and holidays. Theres no waiting until Monday. That hearing immediatly determines whether your child goes home or stays in detention.
Most parents don't have an attorney ready in 48 hours. They think, "it's just the initial hearing, theyll get a lawyer later." The court will assign a public defender if you don't have counsel. But decisions made in that first hearing affect everything that follows - detention status, charges, the entire trajectory of the case. Becuase you werent prepared, your child might stay locked up.
Here's what parents do wrong - and we see this constantly. They try to explain. They think if they just tell the prosecutor what happened, show thier child is a good kid, everything will work out. They have thier child apologize because that seems like the right thing to do.
Every one of these instincts makes things worse. Statements made by parents cant be taken back. "Apologies" can be construed as admissions. The informal atmosphere of Family Court makes people think they can talk thier way out. They wont. Theres no escaping once youve said too much.
An attorney speaks for your child. An attorney knows what to say and what not to say. An attorney understands that "cooperation" in the first 48 hours usually means giving the prosecution more evidence to use. Silence is a constitutional right that applies to juveniles too - we poke holes in cases by making prosecutors prove everything.
If the first 48 hours matter this much, the waiver question matters even more. Because for some charges, its not ending in Family Court. Family Court is just the first stop.
Waiver to Adult Court: The Numbers Nobody Shows You
Juveniles 15 and older can be "waived" to adult court for certain serious offenses. Homicide. Aggravated sexual assault. Carjacking. Robbery with a weapon. Kidnapping. Posessing a firearm with intent to use against someone. The prosecutor files a motion within 60 days of receiving the case.
The New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission tracks waiver outcomes. In 2020-2021, 56 cases were examined. Their findings:
- 96.4% resulted in incarceration - either adult facility or juvenile facility
- Zero waived youth received probation
- 94% ended in guilty pleas
- Average sentence: 7.3 years
- Sentence range: 1.5 years to 38 years
Not one waived juvenile got probation. Not one.
The processing time from waiver granted to case resolution averaged 460 days - over 15 months. Your child sits in legal limbo, future on hold, while the system grinds forward. Its brutal.
County-level data shows this happening across New Jersey:
- Mercer County: 2 youth sentenced to adult facilities
- Middlesex County: 2 youth sentenced to adult facilities
- Bergen, Camden, Salem: 1 youth each
These aren't statistics from some other state. This is New Jersey. This could be your child.
So the cascade looks like this: 15-year-old charged with qualifying offense → Prosecutor files waiver motion → Six months of hearings → Waiver granted → Full criminal prosecution in adult court → 96% chance of incarceration → 7.3 year average sentence → Permenant adult criminal record. What started as "juvenile court" ends with your child in adult prison.
In Family Court, the maximum incarceration for a first-degree crime other than murder is 4 years. In adult court, it's 20. Thats the difference waiver makes.
What Your Child Needs From a Defense Attorney - Now
Todd Spodek has handled juvenile delinquency cases in New Jersey's Family Division. He understands that Family Court isn't what it pretends to be. The "informal" nature is a trap. The "rehabilitation" focus is a lie the statistics destroy. What your child needs is aggressive defense from someone who knows how this system actually works.
That means being present at the first detention hearing - not the second one. It means knowing when to speak and when to stay silent. It means understanding the waiver rules and fighting to keep your child in Family Court jurisdiction where sentences are measured in years, not decades. It means treating this like the serious matter it is.
Your child's future is on the line. Not in some abstract way - in a DNA database, potential registry, possible waiver to adult court, actual incarceration kind of way. Thats the reality. The decisions you make in the next 48 hours matter more than you realize.
Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196. The consultation is free. We'll tell you exactly what your child is facing based on the specific charges and circumstances. No sugarcoating. No pretending Family Court is friendly.
Were here when you need us.
