What Are My Rights?

Accessible, straightforward answers to more than 100 questions about teens’ legal rights and responsibilities.

“Can I be prosecuted for comments I make online?” “What are my rights as an undocumented teen?” “When can I get a tattoo?” These questions―and many more―are asked and answered in What Are My Rights? Teens often have questions about the justice system but don’t always know where to turn for answers. This book provides those answers, exploring more than 100 legal questions pertaining specifically to teens. This revised and updated fourth edition includes fresh facts, updated statistics, and brand-new questions and answers. Using a straightforward tone and drawing on examples from real-life juvenile court cases, Judge Tom Jacobs helps readers learn about the laws that affect them, appreciate their legal rights, and consider their responsibilities.

Teens & the Law Series
The Teens & the Law series familiarizes young readers with our legal system, dispels myths and mysteries, and shows that the law is by and for the people―including teens. The books cover numerous important legal issues pertaining to young people, such as the rights of minors; the rights to privacy and freedom of expression; the rights of gay and lesbian students; the rights of students with disabilities; the rights of parents, schools, and workplaces; the voting and political system; abortion; living wills; traffic laws; curfews; probation; and juvenile versus adult court. Crimes discussed include forgery, obscene conduct, defamation, vandalism, gang-related crimes, gambling, theft, underage drinking, drug and weapon possession, hacking, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, rape, hate crimes, arson, threats, and violence. Each book offers discussion points, tips and advice, detailed resources, emergency hotlines, and probing questions for further reflection.

Thomas A. Jacobs, J.D., was an Arizona Assistant Attorney General from 1972 to 1985 where he practiced criminal and child welfare law.

He was appointed to the Maricopa County Superior Court in 1985 where he served as a judge pro tem and commissioner in the juvenile and family courts until his retirement in 2008. He also taught juvenile law for ten years as an adjunct professor at the Arizona State University School of Social Work. He continues to write for teens, lawyers, and judges.

Visit Judge Jacobs’s website, Askthejudge.info, for free interactive educational tools that provide current information regarding laws, court decisions, and national news affecting teens. It’s the only site of its kind to provide legal questions and answers for teens and parents with the unique ability to interact with Judge Jacobs and other teens.

Judge Jacobs was part of an expert panel of guests on the Dr. Phil show “Bullied to Death” in April 2010. He spoke about the anonymity of cyberbullying. A copy of his book, Teen Cyberbullying Investigated, was given to each member of the audience with Dr. Phil’s exhortation to “Read it. It will close the gap between you and what your kids know that you don’t know.”