Sylmar Juvenile Court is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Copyright 2004 - 2011.
Sylmar / San Fernando Valley Juvenile Court
Sylmar Juvenile Court also known as San Fernando Valley Juvenile Court is located at 16350 filbert Street, Sylmar, CA 91342. Under the new juvenile hall director Sean Porter, members of the public are no longer allowed to park in the parking lot adjacent to the Sylmar Juvenile Courthouse. Parents must park their cars on the streets. Because parking is limited on the streets, it is recommended that you give yourself extra time.
There are five bench officers that work out of the Sylmar Juvenile Court. They are as follows:
Sylmar Juvenile Court, Traffic Court Referee Althea Baker Dept 275
Referee Althea R. Baker, 60 has a master's degree in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University and her law degree from Loyola Marymount Law School. She was admitted to the bar in 1984. She previously served on the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees having been employed the school distict as a teacher, counselor and administrator.
In 1985,she served as chief negotiator for the faculty union in its contract talks with the district which served as a spring board to a seat on the Los Angeles Community College District in 1989. The Los Angeles Community College faculty union contributed a total of $114,323 to her two campaigns for office. She currently serves as a Traffic Court Referee handling cases involving truancy, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, possession of alcohol, traffic violations, and vandalism cases. Because she handles juvenile traffic court cases, there are no prosecutors in that courtroom.
Sylmar Juvenile Court Commissioner Benjamin Campos Dept 276
Commissioner Campos graduated from Pitzer College in Claremont, California. He graduated from UCLA School of Law in 1980. Commissioner Campos replaced Commissioner Gary Polinsky at Los Padrinos Juvenile Court. After serving as a court commissioner at Los Padrinos Court for several years, he was transferred to Sylmar Juvenile Court.
Sylmar Juvenile Court Judge Fred Fujioka Dept 277
Judge Fujioka graduated from USC where he received his Bachelors Degree. He graduated from UC Berkeley School of law in 1977. He previously was employed as a deputy public defender and went on to become a partner in the law firm of Gomez, Fujioka, and Furukawa handling criminal defense and mental health law. He previously handled adult cases at the Pasadena Superior Court prior to coming to Sylmar Juvenile Court.
Sylmar Juvenile Court Referee Mark Frazin Dept 278
Referee Mark Frazin received his undergraduate degree from USC and his law school education at USC School of Law. He graduated from law school in 1970, and was employed for fifteen years as a deputy public defender before taking temporary assignments as a referee thru out Los Angeles County, including briefs stints at Los Padrinos Juvenile Court, and Compton Juvenile Court before coming to Sylmar Juvenile Court. He is one of the more experienced referees and recently was recognized by the California Juvenile Court Judges of California in 2007 for having served more than five years as a referee.
Sylmar Juvenile Court Judge Morton Rochman Dept 279
Judge Rochman graduated from the University of Ilinois, in Champaign-Urbana, Ilinois in 1954. He graduated with his law degree the the University of Illinois School of Law in 1956. He worked as a public defender in Los Angeles County from 1960 to 1971. In 1971, this democrat was appointed judge to the Los Angeles Municipal Court by then Governor Ronald Regan on March 30, 1971. He was elevated to the Los Angeles Superior Court by former Governor George Deukmejian on December 23, 1985. He previously served in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1958 with the rank Specialist Third Class. This year in 2010 marks 39 years that Judge Rochman has served as a judge. He has spent 25 years as a juvenile delinquency court judge at the Sylmar Courthouse. He is 78 years of age in 2011.
School Liason - Sylmar Juvenile Court
Suhil Mulla is the school liason at Sylmar Juvenile Court. Her telephone number is (818) 364-2104. Ms. Mulla's job is to help the Sylmar Juvenile Court Judges verify attendance and school grades for children appearing before the court.
Ms. Mulla's other duties include helping expedite appropriate school placements, and testifying regarding schools records as legal custodians of school records. In addition, Ms. Mulla is the liason to school staff by providing on-call status to subpoenaed school teachers and adminstrators.
What the "on call" status means is that school teachers and administrators are allowed to not have to wait all day in court but only if they agree to appear within an hour of notice. This allows for the efficient administration of the schools since trials are often set but many resolve at the last moment.
For students with unexcused absences and excessive tardies, the Sylmar Juvenile Deputy District Attorney can use the information provided by the school liason to request a probation violation hearing.
Does it help my childs case at Sylmar Juvenile Court if my child has very good grades and doing well in school?
Strong performanced in school is looked upon very favorably by the Sylmar Juvenile Court. In fact, good grades can many times be a factor in the types of dispositions reached by the parties. It does pay to study. Also any letters of recommendations from school teachers also have significant weight as many Sylmar Juvenile Court Judges give much consideration to a teacher who indicates something positive about the child.
If my child is in custody at Sylmar Juvenile Hall, is there anything my child can bring to Sylmar Juvenile Court demonstrating good progress and character?
Yes. Some Sylmar Juvenile Hall staff are willling to write letters. However, most common are the Sylmar Juvenile Hall "Good Grams" given to students at the Sylmar Juvenile Hall. These Good Grams are signed by the Juvenile Hall teachers and given to the students. As trivial as this may seem, it does show the court, the child has good citizenship.
Showing up to Sylmar Juvenile Court with poor grades
A childs progress in school can greatly affect the outcome of his or her Sylmar Juvenile Law case. Many California Juvenile Law Judges and Juvenile Deputy District Attorneys erroneously assume poor academic performance is caused by laziness of the child. Although that may be true with some children, more often than not, many students have a learning disability that will affect the childs grades.
The Sylmar Juvenile Court Judges and Sylmar Juvenile Court Commissioners and Referees place a very high importance on children attending school.
Beyond the possible punishment consequences by the Sylmar Juvenile Court, it really is very important that children do receive a solid education. Receiving poor grades also helps destroy any self esteem that your child may have. School is no longer fun for these children. For many children with delinquent cases, a positive school experience may be the only motivator to even consider college. For children with very poor grades, the parents should consider hiring a private tutor three times a week. Also many schools have after school tutorials. All of these options should fullybe explored to help your child.
Does your child need and Individualized Education Plan?
Parents should also write to their child's school principal requesting an IEP assessment be done. More often than not, many students have a learning disability that will affect the childs grades. If your child has a learning disability, your child should not be punished for not getting the help he needs in school thru an Individualized Education Plan. The burden, however, rests with the parents to requests the IEP assessment be done in writing to the principal.
Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act
You can request a comprehensive assessment for special education services for your child under P.L. 94-142. Furthermore, your child can be assessed for eligibility and services under Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. If your child is not making adequate educational progress, your child can be eligible for reasonable accomodations and special education services under Section 504.
Your request for services should be made in writing. In accordance with Sections 56321 (a) of the California Education Code, the School District will respond to this request within 15 calender days by forwarding to you an asssessment plan for your approval. Once the assessment is received by the School District with your approval, the assessment will commence and the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting will be convened within 50 calender days not counting school vacation days in excess of five days.
Does my child need a Juvenile Lawyer for his case at Sylmar Juvenile Court?
Anytime a child is facing criminal charges, you should immediately consult and retain a lawyer that has a proven successful track record handling Juvenile cases. Police use all kinds of deceptive tactics when dealing with minors. Among others, they often will go to your childs school, have him or her brought to the principals for a police interrogation. Meanwhile, this goes on without even contacting the parents.
Their coercive techniques include saying things will go much better for them if they cooperate. Many others will often request the child to write a so called "apology letter." Meanwhile, the apology letter never actually is given to the alleged victim but merely used in court to incriminate the child as a confession.
Getting a lawyer that specializes in juvenile law is very important. Terrible mistakes are often made by criminal defense lawyers who specialize in adult cases.
In one case, the police convinced a criminal defense lawyer who was a former court commisioner to allow his client to make very incriminating statements. The interrogation room also had a hidden tape recorder and video and when the police officer left the room, the hidden video and recorder got even more incriminating statements. This evidence was used against the child.
In another case, a well known criminal defense lawyer who is often in the news, who primarily handles adult criminal cases misadvised his juvenile client the amount of time he would have to serve at the California Youth Authority, and further misadvised him that he could seal an offense listed under 707b of the Welfare and Institutions Code. This lawyer also advised his client to waive his fitness hearing.
A criminal record could have life long consequences, particularly if it is an offense that cannot later be sealed or is a strike. Don't use a lawyer who practices juvenile law on the side. It is a very specialized field. Experience makes a big difference. Your child deserves the best competent legal representation possible.
Sylmar Juvenile Court Dress Code
Those entering Sylmar Juvenile Court are required to follow a dress code. No sunglasses,bandanas, tanks tops, hats or caps. No smoking or chewing tobacco. Wearing of any "gang" symbols or logos or gang attire as determined by Security and Sheriffs Personnel. No untucked shirts. No hair nets allowed. Minors should not appear in shorts or wear baggie clothing.
Free Consultation for Sylmar Juvenile Court matters by
California's Premier Juvenile Law Firm
Call us at 626-232-0970
If you child is facing delinquency charges at the Sylmar Juvenile Court, it is very important to get a juvenile lawyer whose primary practice is juvenile defense. Most San Fernando Valley Criminal Defense lawyers spend the majority of their time handling adult cases at the San Fernando and Van Nuys adult courthouses. As a result, they may lack the knowledge and experience to provide effective juvenile defense. The rules and procedures are different at the Sylmar Juvenile Courthouse than in adult court. There is no right to to jury trial and no right to bail in juvenile court.
Don't make the mistake of hiring a juvenile defense lawyer based on price as you get what you pay for. Also don't be convinced because of some fancy website with fancy videos. Look at their track record if they have any. Don't let these other lawyers use your child to learn juvenile law. Also ask who is going to handle your childs case? Many of these law firms assign you a junior lawyer to handle your childs case or they hire contract lawyer that knows nothing about juvenile law to defend your child. Don't hire a criminal defense lawyer whose primary practice is defending adult cases and who does juvenile cases on the side.
Mr. Kita is a former Juvenile Deputy District Attorney who has successfully handled more than 1000 juvenile cases. He is a nationally published legal author of "Juvenile Defense Strategies", a Thompson Reuters Business. It is one of the largest legal publishing companies in the world. He authored a chapter and is only one of nine juvenile lawyers in the United States, invited to write an article for the book.
Mr. Kita is rated "Superb" by the World's largest peer and client review directory AVVO receiving its highest score of 10/10. In addition, he has a perfect five star rating from his clients. His winning track records shows that he provides effective legal representation.
If your child is facing criminal charges at the Sylmar Juvenile Court, please call the law offices of George Kita for a free consultation at 626-232-0970. You need the best legal defense for your child.
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