Brooks Law Firm
Two situations, one page. The first half is for a parent with a pending charge and a custody case — open or coming. The second is for a parent whose child was charged. In both, the decisions of the first week matter more than the charge.
Custody
Does a pending charge affect custody by itself?
No. Tennessee’s custody statute lists the factors a court weighs, and a charge is not one of them. On the list: each parent’s moral, physical, mental and emotional fitness as it relates to parenting; evidence of abuse to the child, the other parent, or anyone else; and the character and behavior of people who live in or frequent the home. The conduct alleged can reach family court through those factors before — or without — a conviction. The two cases have to be handled together.
What if the charge involves the other parent?
Then they are already one case. A domestic assault charge comes with a no-contact bond condition, and an order of protection can carry temporary custody. Violating either — a text, a school pickup, a message through the child — is a new charge and the most damaging thing you can do in family court. Communication about the children goes through lawyers, or exactly as the order allows. Our guide to domestic assault during a divorce covers the overlap.
Will DCS get involved?
Sometimes — children present at the arrest, a charge involving them or the other parent, drugs alleged in the home. A DCS visit is not a finding, but what you say is recorded and usable in both cases. Be courteous, ask for a lawyer, and do not give a recorded statement alone.
What outcome protects custody?
A dismissal, or a diversion that ends in one, with no admission that reads as the fitness or abuse factors. The best plea in criminal court can be the worst in family court — a “reduced” charge that still describes violence. Both lawyers have to be talking to each other.
When it is your child
Juvenile court or adult court?
Age at the offense decides it. Under 18: Shelby County Juvenile Court — a petition, not a charge; an adjudication, not a conviction. Eighteen and over: adult court, even in high school. Serious felonies can be transferred to adult court; the word “transfer” is the moment to call. Our juvenile defense page explains the system itself.
If my child is being held, when do we see a judge?
Within 72 hours of detention, excluding weekends and holidays, and never later than 84. Written reasons within 24 hours. If you were not notified and did not attend, an affidavit gets it reheard. Find out where your child is, and be there.
Should my child talk to the police, the school, or the SRO?
Not without a lawyer — and you may say so for them. Children waive rights they do not understand, usually to be allowed to go home. The sentence is: “We want a lawyer before any questions.” Say it to the school too. Tennessee’s zero-tolerance law makes a one-year expulsion automatic for a weapon, drugs, or an assault on staff at school, modifiable by the director; other charges may bring a separate school process. Ask, in writing, what applies. Do not let a school meeting become a statement.
What is the realistic outcome?
Usually better than you fear. Most first juvenile cases end without an adjudication that follows the child — diversion, informal adjustment, dismissal — and a juvenile record can be expunged later. Keep the options open: no statements, no missed hearings, a lawyer at the first appearance.
This week
- Read every bond condition and any order of protection. Follow them exactly, especially about contact.
- Tell your family lawyer today. No family lawyer and an open case? Treat it as the same emergency as the criminal case.
- Do not discuss the case with the other parent or the children.
- For your child: find out where they are and when the hearing is; say “we want a lawyer” before any questioning; get the petition and read it.
- If DCS calls: courteous, ask for a lawyer, no recorded statement alone.
Where this connects
- Domestic assault defense | Orders of protection | Can the charges be dropped?
- Contested divorce | Uncontested divorce | Bond conditions in Memphis
- Juvenile defense in Memphis | When a parent is charged too | Which court hears the case
Talk to a Memphis lawyer who handles both sides
Brooks Law Firm handles criminal defense and family law under one roof, which is what these cases need. Call the office at (901) 324-5000, or call or text the criminal line at 901-412-2973, for a free, confidential consultation. Se habla Español.