Juvenile Defense

Representing Juveniles Charged with Crimes

Andrea Kim has been passionate about representing youth charged with crimes since she started preparing for and studying law in high school. The rehabilitative nature of the Criminal Justice system allows Andrea the ability to do what she does best, tell her client's story. Every child has made a mistake at some point in their life and unfortunately, some lead to criminal charges that can follow them for the rest of their lives. Children should be able to learn from their mistakes and move on to become productive members of society. A juvenile mistake should not keep a person from pursuing their dreams. 

Thankfully Juvenile Court is meant to be more rehabilitative than Adult Court. The stated goal in Juvenile Court is to provide youth involved in the system with the support and resources necessary to learn from their mistakes and be able to stay out of the Court system. Andrea firmly believes that youth who become involved in the Juvenile Justice system should leave the system better than when they entered it. She accomplishes that by crafting resolutions to cases that have the youth leaving the Court system as quickly as possible. She also works with the Prosecutor and Juvenile Probation Counselor to make sure the resolution reached in a case addresses any underlying issues that lead to the youth committing the offense in the first place. The main goal is to address those underlying issues so that the youth never returns to Juvenile Court with any other charges or issues. 

Juvenile Court is typically in a different building in most Counties in Washington State and those under the age of 18 are held in a detention completely separate from adults in jail. Youth are different from adults and the entire Juvenile Justice system is structured with that in mind. Because the Juvenile Justice System is meant to be so different from the adult system, it is imperative that you have an attorney experienced in Juvenile Court handle your juvenile criminal case. 

Felony Charges

At ARK Law, we represent clients with felony charges from Class C felonies all the way up to serious violent Class A felonies. Andrea is particularly passionate about young adult cases for adults between the ages of 18 and 25 where the adolescent brain science can be argued to show that they should not be held as culpable as an older adult in the same situation. 

Andrea also thoroughly enjoys advocating for clients charged with Domestic Violence crimes. All too often, domestic violence cases are actually an "alleged victim" using the system to abuse the client who is charged with the crime. Proving what actually happened and fighting for the client's truth to be heard in domestic violence cases is some of the most rewarding work Andrea does. 

Andrea is well versed in self defense law. She teaches the legal portion of a women's only home defense course in teaching women when they can and cannot use deadly force to defend themselves and their families. She has also represented many clients charged with assaults where self defense was proven at trial. Clients charged with Murder who did so in self defense is another area that she has extensive experience. 

Misdemeanor and DUI

If you are arrested for a DUI in Washington State, you need an attorney that knows how to handle all facets of a DUI. You will be faced with the license consequences through Department of Licensing as well as the criminal charges. The consequences of a DUI conviction go far beyond the courtroom and it is imperative that clients charged with DUI have an experienced attorney walking them through all of the aspects of a DUI case. Andrea Kim has handled hundreds of DUIs and in every case has obtained: less jail time; an amendment to a lower charge; entry of a deferred disposition; or taken the case to trial and either received a not guilty verdict or conviction of a lesser charge. 

DUIs are a very unique area of criminal defense because they are scientific and technical. There are also a number of specific steps and actions officers must take and must not take in order to effectuate a valid DUI arrest. The laws and science behind DUIs are changing on a daily basis and it is important that the attorney handling your DUI case be up to speed on those constant changes. Andrea attends multiple DUI specific trainings and seminars every year. She also researches and speaks with experts in the field about the science behind DUIs. You can rest assured that Andrea will be an effective and knowledgeable attorney to represent you against any sort of DUI charge.