Introduction
This pamphlet was designed to answer some of the questions you may have about the legal system. The law referred to is for the District of Columbia, so if your legal matters are taking place in Maryland, Virginia, or any other state, the law may be different. This is not designed to take the place of a lawyer or doing your own research about an issue, but will hopefully help you get started. In addition to the information listed in each section, there are lots of helpful phone numbers listed at the end. Whenever you have a legal issue, seek out information.

The law can seem very complicated and intimidating, but the law is here for everyday people, including teenagers and young adults, to use. Knowing your rights and how to use them can help you be a better citizen and person and help you have a better life. When police, lawyers, and everyday people work together with respect and honesty, the law actually works!

Laws are created by Courts and legislative bodies and constantly change. Make sure that you speak to a legal service provider or do research to ensure that the law you are using is the most up to date version.

Table of Contents

Relationships With Others

• Relationships and Violence
• Getting Married
• Statutory Rape
• Abuse and Neglect Law
• Child Support

Work and Money

• Jobs
• Teens and $$$

Individual Rights

• The Police are Here to Serve and Protect…But What If They Stop Me!
• Curfew
• Truancy and Loitering
• Emancipation
• Juvenile Justice in D.C.

Getting To and Fro

• Helmets and Bicycles
• Driving

Additional Resources

• Legal Resources
• Health Services
• D.C. Metropolitan Police

Prepared by the GULC Street Law Clinic and sponsored by the Criminal Law and Individual Rights Section of the District of Columbia Bar. Written and developed by Carla Cartwright, Nicole Thornton, and Robin Walker in cooperation with the Street Law Clinic at Georgetown University Law Center. Special thanks to Rebekkah Bravo and Angela Ramson

This pamphlet was distributed at Youth Law Fair 2003. The fair, sponsored by the D.C. Bar District of Columbia Affairs Section, is an annual outreach program that teaches D.C. teens and their parents about their rights, responsibilities and the justice system. For more information about the Youth Law Fair, please call the D.C. Bar Sections Office 202-626-3463.

© Copyright June 2002
This guide is protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions. You may print copies of or download the information found in the The Law Actually Works…When You Know How to Use It! A Practical Guide to D.C. Law for Teens and Young Adults for your personal, non-commercial use, but you may not, without the express prior written consent of the steering committee of the District of Columbia Bar Criminal Law and Individual Rights Section and Georgetown University Law Center Street Law Clinic:

1. Copy, distribute, or download any information on this Web site for any other purpose,
2. Modify any information on this Web site for any reason,
3. Include any part of this Web site in another work, or
4. Frame content on the D.C. Bar Web site, or
5. Link to content on the D.C. Bar Web site

without presenting it in the same form in which it is presented on the D.C. Bar Web site. The D.C. Bar and the Criminal Law Section reserve all rights not specifically granted herein.