There is a broad range of family law issues covered in Juvenile Court. These include unruliness, truancy, juvenile delinquency offenses, and non-criminal matters including custody or child support orders when the parents are unmarried, and abuse, neglect, dependency actions initiated by County Children Services Agency. The Meranda Law Firm represents children and parents in the juvenile system to ensure that their client’s rights remain protected while working to achieve the best possible resolution to preserve your families’ principles.

The Meranda Law Firm assists clients in all aspects of juvenile law, including:

• Unruliness
• Delinquency
• Juvenile Traffic Offensives
• Juvenile Tobacco Offensives
• Child abuse, neglect and dependency usually initiated by a County Children Services Agency
• Adult criminal cases (misdemeanors only) such as criminal non-support, contributing to the delinquency or unruliness of a child, child endangering and sexual imposition when the stated victim is a minor child.

Child Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Proceedings
If you are a parent and the County Department of Children and Family Services Agency is investigating you over allegations of abuse, neglect and/or dependency, it is critical to retain an experienced family law attorney to navigate you through these proceedings. These proceedings can have negative consequences, up to and including removal of your child for placement in temporary custody of the agency to termination of parental rights. But before taking any action to permanently remove the children from their parents’ care or to terminate parental rights, the Agency must make “reasonable efforts” to preserve or reunify the family.

Juvenile Delinquency Proceedings
Juvenile delinquency, is a violation of the law committed by a person under the age of 18 that would be considered a crime if it was committed by a person 18 or older. While the substantive criminal law is the same in juvenile and adult court, the procedures and sentencing law are substantially different. Juvenile convictions range in punishments from probation, to commitment in a juvenile detention facility or commitment to the department of youth and services. However, in severe cases the juvenile can be prosecuted in adult court where the punishment is even worse. Additionally, juvenile convictions remain on state criminal records databases and may impair your child’s chances to enter college, impair them from receiving financial aid, obtain employment, obtain a driver's license or join the military. 

Contact The Meranda Law Firm today for a FREE CONSULTATION.


The Meranda Law Firm handles family law / juvenile law cases for clients in the following counties/cities throughout central Ohio, Licking County, Perry County, Franklin County, Fairfield County, Delaware County, Pickaway County, Madison County, Union County, Marion County, Knox County, Muskingum County, Coshocton County, Morrow County, Clark County, Newark, Columbus, Heath, Granville, Johnstown, Pataskala, Mount Vernon, Lancaster, New Lexington, Zanesville, Reynoldsburg, New Albany, Westerville, Hebron, Circleville, Kirkersville, and Alexandria.