Asked in Juvenile Law for North Carolina

Q: Is it legal for a minor to be questioned without his gurdian or lawyer present in the state of North Carolina

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2 Lawyer Answers
Krispen Culbertson
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Krispen Culbertson
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Greensboro, NC
  • Licensed in North Carolina

A: It depends upon the context. Is it a criminal investigation or testimony (or witness interview) in a criminal case?

If it's criminal, yes. A cop can question a minor as part of a criminal investigation.

If it's civil, it depends on many things and we'd need to know if it's testimony in court we're talking about, or some other kind of "questioning" in order to answer this.

Amanda Bowden Johnson
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Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Jacksonville, NC
  • Licensed in North Carolina

A: In most cases, yes, it is sickening isn't it. For example DSS can roll up into to school and legally question your children without your knowledge and without you being present and even use extremely nasty and dirty tactics or even out right lies to get the information they want. Which is why it is likely best that you teach your children to absolutely refuse to answer questions from anyone and by anyone I mean exactly that - anyone. Teachers, law enforcement, authority figures such as a principal, etc. without you being there with them to tell them what is OK to answer and what is not. And you need to explain to the child that these people may lie to them to trick them into answering questions. For example, they can say 'mommy and daddy said it was ok for you to talk to us.' or they will try to scare the child into answering by saying the child will go to jail if they don't answer or that mommy and daddy will go to jail if they don't answer.

This is the America you you live in now - you should probably consider doing something about it.

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