SPRINGFIELD – Lawyers are supposed to win cases for their clients. Lawyers in the juvenile justice system want what’s best for troubled children.

And when the two impulses are in conflict, the attorney should focus on presenting the best possible defense, a deeply divided Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The court ordered a new trial for a teenager known as Austin M., who was found guilty – or “adjudicated delinquent” in legal terminology – of sexually abusing two foster children living in his home in 2005.