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They for sure won't with a conviction. Things are already stacked against them, stacking more against them is pure stupidity and certain to result in the worst possible outcome. I would like for someone to explain to me where the justice is in punishing two kids for the rest of their lives for a single mistake.

They're minors. Their records will be purged when they come of age.

They're minors. Their records will be purged when they come of age.

If you really believe that employers still won't find out, I've got some beachfront property that you might be interested in.

Convicting a 13 year old and a 12 year old of a crime in this case will not serve anyone and will result in more problems than if the legal system simply butted out.

"They're minors. Their records will be purged when they come of age."

That's what people think, but it's not exactly true. In most if not all states juvenile records will be sealed, but not destroyed. If later these kids want to go in the military, or be a stockbroker, or be a lawyer (maybe not in all states), these juvenile records are fair game. I've done all of these jobs, and I've handled tons of juvenile delinquency cases. I remember before taking the Series 7 exam to be a broker having to fill out a form that asked about any and all arrests, whether the cases were "dropped," "thrown out,""expunged," etc. They even used the slang words so people couldn't come back and say they misunderstood the form. At the bottom of the form it said it was a federal offense to omit any of your criminal history or lie about it punishable by something like ten years in prison and a $100,000 fine. They did about the same thing in the Army except they actually interrogate you in person as well. I recall being brought to two different rooms and being questioned by two different people, asking all sorts of questions basically over and over again.

Now, if these kids do lie to the military or whatever about their juvenile records, odds are good no one will ever know because in order to get any records these organizations would have to get a judge to sign an order allowing access to the records. They can't really do that unless they know about the offenses. Those who admit their juvenile transgressions will basically create new records once the old ones are opened up. Those that don't risk getting in a lot of trouble later if they try to get certain secret clearances where government workers will be sent out to talk to neighbors and so on to really check them out before granting the clearance. These kids could potentially get in a lot of trouble if they lie. I actually spent a while as a "recruiter's aid" after my initial training in the Army and the recruiter I worked with routinely suggested to people with juvenile records that they keep all that to themselves when they go down to get processed in. He had quotas to meet.

There are probably all sorts of other employers that are allowed to ask about people's troubles with the law as juveniles and that might be able to get access to juvenile records. I only mentioned those I'm sure about. Things these young people do, bad decisions they make, certainly can haunt them the rest of their lives. I always try to set them straight on that when I represent them.