Supreme Court upholds parent liability law

Friday, Feb. 27, 1998 | 3:57 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A law that permits a district judge to order a parent to pay all or part of the costs and attorney fees in a delinquency case of a child is constitutional, the Nevada Supreme Court has ruled.

The court said Friday the state has a legitimate interest in seeing the costs incurred by a local government due to the delinquent acts of a juvenile are repaid.

The case involved a 14-year-old girl who was accused of a misdemeanor battery in the beating of a woman in Carson City in October 1995.

The Supreme Court upheld a finding that the girl committed an act of delinquency. It rejected her plea that she made statements without being advised she was entitled to a lawyer.

She also claimed it was unconstitutional to order a parent or guardian to pay all or part of the costs in the case. She said it punishes those who are not at fault for the misconduct of their child.

But the court said the law was "not arbitrary or unreasonable."

The girl also claimed her father was entitled to a hearing before any costs were assessed against him. But the court said the records showed the father was notified of all court proceedings and never showed up for any of them.

Because the case involved a juvenile, the name was not revealed.

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