by TChris

This is a familiar story. A parent catches her kid breaking the law. She turns him in and instructs him to plead guilty, expecting that a fair-minded judge will give the kid a stern lecture before imposing some community service hours.

That isn't the way it works. Catherine Quigley and her son learned that the hard way.

Quigley, angry after Matthew took his sister's car for a joy ride, thought a much-needed scare by police would serve him right. ... Instead, the arrest snowballed into a grand-theft-auto conviction -- a third-degree felony with strict penalties.

Parents who think the legal system will treat their kids fairly need to understand that the system works best when kids invoke their constitutional rights by consulting with a lawyer before deciding whether to plead guilty.

Throughout the country, juveniles are admitting guilt without the advice of attorneys at alarming rates -- a problem that has sparked calls for reform among legal scholars, attorneys and child advocates. In Florida, about one in four young people charged with serious crimes pleads guilty without legal advice, according to University of Florida researchers.

The Florida Supreme Court is going to decide whether a juvenile should be required to meet with an attorney to assure that the decision to waive counsel is made with a full understanding of the consequences of pleading guilty without legal assistance. Experience shows that hasty and uninformed guilty pleas lead kids into worlds of hurt they never expected. Lawyers can correct the mistaken beliefs that guide the advice given by parents, including the myth that a juvenile record will never come back to haunt an adult. Courts should make sure that kids understand their rights before they give them up on a parent's advice.