Section 15 Child AdvocateorChildProsecutor?

• Library: Juvenile Law 2011

Appellate courts in Missouri have made it clear that juvenile officers are not to act in the capacity of a prosecutor because of the potential to undermine the relationship of trust and confidence between a child and the juvenile officer, which is necessary to the rehabilitative process. In re F___ C___, 484 S.W.2d 21 (Mo. App. W.D. 1972);
In re M___ C___, 504 S.W.2d 641 (Mo. App. E.D. 1974). Yet that admonition seems almost naive given the fact that, in many instances, juvenile officers must necessarily...