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to leave work, the poor kid.”
    â€œIs there a reason you didn’t call a lawyer?”
    â€œThe cop said we don’t need a lawyer, he said nobody gets a lawyer for juvie court.”
    Bennie knew that had to be wrong. “What was the cop’s name, do you remember?”
    â€œRemember? I know him. Wright Township police only have a handful o’ cops. It was Johnny Manco, he goes to our church. So then he took us to the courthouse door. We went to a table and they gave us this sheet and the lady said if we signed it, and pled guilty, it would go easier for Jason.”
    â€œLet me see that.” Bennie accepted the paper when Matthew slid it toward her and the top line read, W AIVER OF R IGHT TO C OUNSEL . Underneath that it read:
    A. I understand the rights listed above. Check one: yes, no.
    B. I wish to proceed with the intake interview without a lawyer. Check one: yes, no.
    I will have my own lawyer. Check one: yes, no.
    I cannot afford a lawyer and desire a public defender to represent me. Check one: yes, no.
    Bennie noted that on Part A, the “yes” box had been checked in pen, and on Part B, the first sentence had been checked yes, I wish to proceed with the intake interview without a lawyer. “What’s an intake interview?”
    â€œI don’t know. There was a lady at the back of the room, she’s a probation officer, I think, just sitting at a table in the back of the courtroom. You tell her what happened, and they just shuffle you into the courtroom.”
    â€œWhy did you sign this?”
    â€œShe said the same thing the cop did, ‘don’t make a big deal of it, that it’ll go a lot easier for him if he doesn’t have a lawyer.’” Matthew paused, stricken. “I let him down. I never thought this could happen.”
    Bennie’s heart went out to him. “Don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault.”
    â€œI should’ve known better.”
    â€œIf you knew better, you wouldn’t need a lawyer. And I’d be out of business.”
    Matthew managed a smile, and Bennie returned her attention to the form, which had a signature line at the bottom, after: Acknowledgment: I acknowledge the above-named juvenile is my child, and I hereby waive his right to counsel. After that was Matthew’s signature.
    â€œDid the judge ask you or Jason any questions about having a lawyer?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œAlso, you signed this waiver form, but I don’t believe that you can waive Jason’s rights to counsel.”
    â€œI figured it’s like a permission slip.”
    â€œLegally, it’s not the same thing. He has constitutional rights.” Bennie decided it was time for the short course in juvenile justice. “There’s a landmark case, In Re Gault , decided by the Supreme Court in the sixties, and it guarantees the same constitutional rights to juveniles that adults have. Any waiver of a constitutional right has to be knowing and intelligent. His wasn’t.” Bennie set the sheet of paper aside. “Okay, you said you went to the public defender. What happened?”
    â€œThey told me I make too much money.” Matthew snorted. “First time I ever heard that .”
    â€œBut it’s not your income level that’s relevant, it’s Jason’s, and he’s indigent.” Bennie didn’t get it. “Tell me what the judge said, during the adjudication.”
    â€œThere was no ‘judication,’ the whole thing didn’t take but three minutes! The judge yelled at him, you’re going right to jail, then the officers came over and they put him in shackles!”
    â€œAround his ankles?” Bennie asked, shocked.
    â€œYes, so he couldn’t even walk, and they took him to River Street.”
    â€œWhat’s River Street?”
    â€œIt’s juvie. He’s going to be there ninety days .”
    â€œThree months?” Bennie