Domestic Violence Against a Parent and Incorrigibility

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Michigan.

My parents and I have had a really rocky relationship for the majority of my life, but things are definitely getting worse. I am going to court for the charges of domestic violence (for threatening and kicking my dad) and incorrigibility. I know how it sounds, and so I'm afraid that my side of the story will simply be disregarded and I'll automatically be seen as a silly teenager that won't submit. I'm very nervous and my anxiety on the matter has been giving me hell for the past week or so. I'm afraid of having no one there to defend me because I can't very well communicate my side of things, and I'm afraid of the aftermath.

I really wanted to move out of my home and into the home of someone I'm comfortable with (my options were my grandparents' or my boyfriend's because, like I said, I have pretty bad anxiety and can only stay a few places that aren't my own house) because of how difficult living with my parents is getting, and for a while they said I could. They wanted to, in fact. But after I finally mustered up the courage they pulled that rug right out from under my feet. Now it's like I'm trapped in my own skin; they're controlling everything so that I break and submit. They'll even ground me from homework if we get into an argument. You can understand why this frustrates me.

Now that we're going to court, they're saying I may be put in foster care or a juvenile detention center... I'm really worried about it, I don't think I could keep living like that. What should I expect and what should I do so that the judge will really listen to me?

Regards,
Christian Anne

How old are you, Christian?

Oh, I forgot to mention that! I'm 16, will be 17 in July.

At 16, you cannot move out of the house unless your parents give you permission or you are removed from the house by the state. If you are removed by the state, they, not you and not your relatives or boyfriend, will decide where you live. While it is possible that the state may agree to place you with your grandmother, it is a sure-fire guarantee, 100% positive, that you will not be placed with your boyfriend or his family.

Yes, I figured that. I'm more concerned about the trial itself and how they would decide where I would live. And how I'd be treated in court...

No way for us to know.

Well hitting (or kicking) your parent is against the law, so I'd venture to guess that you'd be looking at minimally probation and at the worst, juvenile detention and then a period of probation. You deserve that much. You've got no idea how your bad decisions are going to effect you later down the line.

This is what I meant by others not understanding. I deserve consequences, yes, but no one is willing to ask about the circumstances... I'm not an awful kid, not even a relatively bad one.

Honey, no matter what the circumstances, we just don't know what an unknown judge in an unknown jurisdiction is going to do, how he will treat you, or whether he will listen to you. It's just not a question we can answer. Even if we were there to witness it and see what the circumstances were, we still wouldn't know.

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Quoting Just_A_Guest

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This is what I meant by others not understanding. I deserve consequences, yes, but no one is willing to ask about the circumstances... I'm not an awful kid, not even a relatively bad one.

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Regardless of the circumstances, here's what we know:
Your parent(s) think you are a discipline issue
You threatened and kicked your father, which is going to make the above look even more like the truth.

I'm not sure what you think a relatively bad kid would do, but I guarantee you that threatening and kicking your father makes you look like a pretty bad kid. I mean, MY kid has done some craptacular stuff, but you ought to be glad you're not my child because you'd be BEGGING to go to foster care once I was done with you after you kicked me. Foster care would be Disneyland.