If your child has been arrested or summonsed to appear in juvenile court, or if your child is facing a school expulsion or suspension hearing as a result of juvenile delinquency charges, we can help.

Nancy Jordalen is certified to represent minors in trouble with the law. She advocates vigorously for her juvenile clients before judges, prosecutors, probation officers, school administrators and government agencies.

With extensive experience in this specialized practice, Nancy represents juveniles at all phases of court proceedings, including hearings before a clerk magistrate, arraignments, bail arguments and bail revocations, probation surrenders and probation detention hearings, dangerousness hearings, and trials.

Nancy also represents juveniles on non-criminal matters. These may include CHINS (Child In Need of Services) petitions for habitual school offenders or for truancy, as well as runaway and stubborn child allegations. In addition, Nancy advocates for juveniles facing school expulsion or suspension hearings, and at TEAM meetings for juveniles in need of special education services of accommodations.

Nancy has defended nearly 200 juveniles charged with crimes, including the following offenses:

• Assault and battery
• Domestic assault
• Threats and criminal harassment
• Possession of a dangerous weapon
• Drug possession and drug distribution
• School zone offenses
• Alcohol charges
• Motor vehicle offenses
• Trespassing, vandalism, tagging and malicious destruction of property
• Breaking and entering, larceny and receiving stolen property
• Disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct
• Shoplifting
• Forgery
• Resisting arrest

Though most criminal cases are resolved through the negotiation of a plea or dismissal, a small percentage proceed to trial. Nancy has tried the following juvenile cases, all of which resulted in findings of not guilty:

• A November 2006 bench trial of a juvenile charged with assault and battery (on an off-duty police officer), resisting arrest and disorderly person.
• An April 2006 bench trial of a juvenile charged with disorderly conduct within her high school.
• A March 2006 bench trial of a juvenile charged with burning public property.
• An October 2005 bench trial of a juvenile charged with larceny.
• A September 2005 bench trial of a juvenile charged with breaking and entering in the daytime to commit a felony.

Success in criminal cases is often measured in ways other than a verdict at trial. For many juvenile defendants, obtaining a “not delinquent” verdict is so unlikely that the better strategy is to seek the best possible resolution before trial. Criminal defense includes pretrial motion practice, negotiation, and sentencing advocacy. Nancy’s extensive experience in pretrial success in juvenile cases includes the following:

• Prevailing on a motion to dismiss affray charges against a juvenile allegedly involved in a fight in a convenience store parking lot, resulting in a dismissal.
• Persuading the court to suppress incriminating statements made by a juvenile on the ground that the questioning should have been electronically recorded, resulting in dismissal of the charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
• Prevailing on a motion for an out of court identification of a juvenile charged with breaking and entering an automobile, resulting in dismissal of the charges when witnesses could not identify our client.
• Arguing successfully to suppress marijuana found on a young man after police searched him because he was with a friend who was stopped and arrested on an outstanding warrant.
• Persuading the court to reduce several charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (baseball bat, rock, knife) to simple assault and battery.

Preliminary telephone consultation
When you call us to discuss a juvenile defense case, an attorney can speak with you for up to 20 minutes at no charge.

During this information-gathering process, you explain the nature of the charges and the relevant background facts, and we provide our preliminary assessment of the case, the various courses of action and, if possible, the estimated costs. If necessary, we may ask you to fax us copies of police reports or other documents in order to properly assess your case.

Office (or telephone) conference
If a longer and more comprehensive consultation is needed, we can offer an office visit or phone conference of up to an hour. This session covers a detailed discussion of your case and your objectives, an explanation of the legal process and applicable law, and a discussion of strategy and fees. The cost for this session is calculated at our standard rates. If you decide to retain our services, this meeting is followed by the execution of a written fee agreement and formulation of a plan of action.

Requesting a consultation
Please do not send details of your case by email. We cannot review any details of your case until we have verified that we do not represent an adverse party.

If you call and leave a voice message, your call will generally be returned within 24 hours. We check voice mail several times a day and on weekends.