Parents face difficult choices when children are in legal trouble

Good parents always help their children. They will nurture them and guide them through tough times. But how far should a parent go to protect a child who runs afoul of the law?

Two local high-profile hit-and-run cases have brought the issue to the forefront: Jennifer Porter five years ago and Jordan Valdez eight months ago. In each case, parents became aware that their child may have been involved in fatal hit-and-runs.

Valdez's parents called police as soon as they learned of her possible involvement, even though it was hours after their damaged vehicle had been found by police and impounded.

Porter's parents eventually admitted to cleaning the damaged car the night of the crash and helping their daughter conceal her crime for almost a week before she finally stepped forward.

In such cases, parents surely are torn between loyalty to their children and obligation to society.

Legally, there never has been a privilege of communication between parents and children as there is between husbands and wives, doctors and patients, or lawyers and clients; and since a law was enacted in 2006, parents can be charged with being an accessory if they impede investigations of their children, juvenile or adult.

Prior to 2006, parents - and any blood relation of a suspect - had immunity from prosecution in accessory-after-the-fact scenarios. They could be subpoenaed and compelled to give testimony, if prosecutors could elicit the statements, but they could not be charged with being an accessory if they helped cover up a crime committed by a blood relative.

The Jason A. Gucwa Act allows prosecutors to charge parents if they help hide or destroy evidence or assist in a getaway. The law is named after a 2003 murder victim in Flagler County. The mother of the accused killer in that case helped him avoid capture.

Parents are more likely to be involved when juveniles become suspects of crimes.

The parents of Jordan Valdez, 16, have hired attorneys of their own to protect their rights after their daughter was charged with a fatal hit-and-run in February. Police said the teen drove to her Davis Islands home and left her car on the street, where officers found it and impounded it. The next morning, Valdez's father called to report his car had been stolen. It wasn't until after he spoke to his daughter that he called police to say she had been involved in a hit-and-run the night before.

Prosecutors said Valdez's parents did all the right things, and charges against them are unlikely. The teen has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for a change of plea and sentencing hearing Nov. 24.

Had the Gucwa law been in effect in 2004, it could have been in a factor in the case of Porter, a Hillsborough County school teacher who fatally struck two children and left the scene, legal experts said.

Porter's parents, James and Lillian, nearly ended up in jail anyway when they refused to cooperate with investigators. One witness told authorities that Porter's mom drove the damaged car to the family home, where it sat for five days before her daughter came forward. Her father admitted to rinsing off the car.

Legally, the state can compel parents to testify against their criminally charged children, even if the children are juveniles. But that's always a tough call, prosecutors said. The risk is that such grilling could alienate a jury and make prosecutors look like bullies. More importantly, a parent may have a sudden change of heart on the witness stand and lie to save their child, risking the state's case altogether.

Prosecutors do go after parents who participate in crimes after the fact, they said. If a parent destroys evidence or helps a child avoid capture, accessory charges are a real possibility and it's a useful tool for prosecutors to gather evidence.

In some cases, parents are caught in between. They cooperate with authorities, but still stand by their children.

In Orlando over the past year, the parents of Casey Anthony, the 22-year-old woman charged in the homicide of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, continue to publicly stand by their daughter, even though the defendant's mother suggested on a blog last year that her daughter, "did something" to the child (she later rescinded the statement).

Prosecutors believe the parents know nothing about the death of their granddaughter. It was Casey's mother who alerted police to the foul odor coming from the trunk of her daughter's car, sparking the homicide investigation.

Kim Seace spent more than a dozen years prosecuting criminal defendants in Hillsborough County. She was a prosecutor in the Porter case and now, as a defense attorney, represents Jordan Valdez's mother, Kim, after her daughter was implicated in that high-profile hit-and-run death.

The state's muscle is flexed sparingly, she said.

"It's very rare," she said. "We just don't have situations that come up that frequently on cases of that serious a nature where parents are involved."

As a prosecutor, "I probably did it on a half-dozen cases over my 16-year career," she said.

For parents who learn that their child may be involved in a crime, she offered this advice:

"The best thing a parent can do if their child comes to them and expresses that they've committed some type of crime is to go seek legal counsel immediately for that child. Get an expert in criminal defense in that particular area to advise the child."

Hillsborough County sheriff's Capt. J.R. Burton said deputies always try to gain the trust of parents when investigating crimes involving juveniles.

"We try to build a rapport with parents on the front end," he said. "Typically, we sit down with parents and talk to them. Usually, they are very cooperative. That tack typically works for us."

Seldom do deputies ask a judge to compel a parent to give testimony, he said.

"We always have to weigh the situation," he said. "Parents naturally want to help their children. Most aren't going to facilitate or cover up a crime.

"A majority of them [parents] bring the information to us," he said. "We see that a lot of times, even with their own kids. There are a lot of people out there who want to do the right thing."