New York City Risk of Injury to a Minor Laws

It can be beneficial for those charged with child endangerment to have a general understanding of New York City risk of injury to a minor laws. The legal term used the most often for risk of injury to a minor is endangering the welfare of a child. That is the crime that is most commonly associated with risk of injury to a minor. For more information, speak with a distinguished risk of injury to a minor attorney right away.

Laws Surrounding Corporal Punishment and Physical Discipline

New York City’s risk of injury to a minor laws are a very touchy subject. There is a very hazy line where corporal punishment ends and child abuse begins. Courts try and give a little bit of deference to families to raise their children the way that they see fit, but there are lines that, when crossed, they know they are crossed.

In general, a person would hope that it is clear when it is appropriate to step in and when it is not, but there are a lot of circumstances that friends, family members, law enforcement, or prosecutors might think is an offense that should be charged. Sometimes the courts might defer to the parent.

It is frequently difficult to find that balance. There are cases where it is obvious since the kid has been sent to a hospital repeatedly for injuries that are consistent with corporal punishment. A kid cannot be hospitalized over and over again and walk away from it. If it is a spanking or some sort of slapping, while a lot of people might find that sort of discipline distasteful, it might not rise to the level of criminal action.

Minors Involved in Child Endangerment Cases

Under New York City’s risk of injury to minor laws, there are a lot of different ways that the law prevents certain people from acting towards children or doing certain things against their will. This is handled in different ways based on who they are.

The vast majority of the charges dealing with minors, specifically with regard to their status as minors, are misdemeanors. For the most part, this relates to the potential for injury. If an injury occurs, the charge will likely be an assault offense. If it is some other substantive crime that could be charged against anybody, it would be a felony charge against the minor.

Based on the fact that children are smaller and generally more fragile, they are more susceptible to serious injury. The difference between a misdemeanor and a felony charge depends on the situation. It depends on the gravity of the action, but most cases that deal with the potential for injury to a minor end up being misdemeanors.

Benefit of an Attorney in Risk of Injury to a Minor Cases

There are always new things that attorneys try to find to help someone’s case within the purview of New York City risk of injury to a minor laws. Sometimes that is doing an independent investigation to show that the claims are false. The fact of the matter is a lot of times kids get used by adults who are engaged in collateral arguments.

Sometimes a messy divorce happens and one party accuses the other of child abuse to get full custody or a ticket to a person that they are fighting with. That is not to say that there are not real cases of child abuse that happen frequently in New York City. It is important to have an attorney who will listen to what their client tells them and will make a full investigation of the claims to substantiate anything that their client says with regard to whether or not these things are actually happening.

Contact us today to learn more about how we could assist with your case.