The Law Offices of Thomas G. Tripp in Clearwater and St. Petersburg, Florida, serves clients in need of juvenile criminal defense legal services. The age of majority in Florida is 18 years of age. I am an experienced criminal defense attorney who practices in the communities of St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Pinellas Park.

Call 727-544-8819 or submit the online form on this website to schedule an appointment at no charge, to review the facts of your case, discuss your options under the law, and answer any questions you may have. I look forward to assisting you and will provide the individual attention and personalized service that you deserve.

I handle such juvenile cases such as underage drinking, DUI, driving offenses, assault, robbery, burglary and sexual assault. Juvenile offenses need to be examined by an experienced attorney with a background in the juvenile justice system. This is important because a juvenile court disposition which would not be imposed on an adult for the same offense, may be imposed on a juvenile by virtue of his or her age. There are no juries in a juvenile court. The juvenile court judge is the one who decides the case.

There are also vast differences in the standards for adults and juveniles to be charged with an offense. One example of this is that the DUI breath alcohol standard is substantially lower for juveniles than for adults. For a juvenile, the breath alcohol threshold is only .02 to be charged.

A key point for parents to note: you cannot assume that if your child is charged in juvenile court that the final outcome won’t have an effect on the child’s future career or ability to get into the college of their choice or to obtain the type of employment he or she wants.