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UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice

Chapter 16
Juvenile Justice

STREET LAW

In the United States, juveniles who break the


law are treated differently than adults
However, this has not always been the case
In earlier times, children were housed in the
same jails as adults
Long prison terms and corporal punishment
were common, & some children were even
sentenced to death

Today, there is a separate juvenile system for


juvenile offenders, although in some cases
juveniles can still be tried as adults
Sentencing options for juvenile offenders
range from counseling & probation to time
spent in juvenile correctional facilities

Introduction and History and


Overview of Juvenile Courts

Reformers in the mid-1800s believed that parents'


failure to teach their children proper values &
respect for authority led to juvenile delinquency
Therefore, the reformers proposed a separate
juvenile court system to assume parents'
responsibility & discipline juvenile offenders
This separate court sought to rehabilitate, or help
juveniles make better decisions, rather than
punish

Today, juvenile courts generally handle three


groups of juveniles
delinquent offenders, or youths who have

committed acts that would be crimes if adults had


committed them
status offenders, or youths who have committed
acts that would not be crimes if committed by
adults
and neglected & abused children

Juvenile Justice & Drugs


The National Institute of Justice in the Office of
Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP) attempted to determine the
relationship between drug use, sales, & other
criminal activities among juveniles
The study found that heavy drug users were
significantly more likely than non-users to
commit burglary, deal in stolen goods, drive
under the influence, & carry a concealed
weapon

Drug sellers were significantly more likely


than non-sellers to use a weapon to threaten
someone, commit robbery, deal in stolen
goods, individually attack & injure another
youth, & commit burglary
Drug users were more likely than sellers to be
involved in property crimes, while sellers were
more likely than users to commit crimes
against persons

Should juvenile drug users & sellers be more,


less or equally entitled to rehabilitation efforts
than adults who fit the same profile?

Juvenile or Adult?

A 16 y.o. who is accused of skipping school?


A 15 y.o. who is accused of assaulting a classmate?
A 14 y.o. who is accused of committing murder?
A 9 y.o. who is accused of committing murder?
An 11 y.o. who is accused of committing rape?
A 13 y.o. who is accused of shoplifting in a dept. store?

Waivers

After a juvenile is taken into custody, he or she may be


released, referred to youth court, or sent to juvenile court
All states allow juveniles, under certain conditions, to be
tried as adults by way of 1 or more transfer mechanisms
Since the early 1990s, nearly every state has modified its
laws to make it easier to prosecute juveniles in adult court
Legislatures also added many offenses for which juveniles
could be tried in adult court & lowered the age at which
certain juveniles could be tried in adult court

One of the more common changes gives


prosecutors the option of filing charges in
adult courts instead of juvenile courts
Many defense attorneys & judges disagree
with the way this shifts the decision from the
judges to prosecutors

There are 3 types of waivers:


A legislative waiver sends the youth to adult court

based on certain objective criteria set by the state


legislature
A prosecutorial waiver gives the prosecutor the
discretion on how to charge the youth
A judicial waiver is the traditional method of
allowing a judge to use subjective criteria in making
the decision

Studies have shown that youths charged as


adults suffer more physical abuse in jail &
have a higher recidivism rate than those
similarly charged in juvenile court
The minimum age for waiver to adult courts
has been lowered to 14 in some states

In the case of Kent v. United States, the U.S.


Supreme Court suggested 9 factors for
determining whether to use a transfer:
The seriousness of the offense & protection of the

community
Whether the offense was committed in an aggressive,
violent, premeditated, or willful manner
Whether the crime was committed against a person or
property
The likelihood that the complaint would lead to
indictment

Whether or not associates were being charged in

adult court
The sophistication & maturity of the child with
respect to his or her home environment, emotional
attitude, & pattern of living
The childs previous record, if any
The prospects for adequate protection to the
public
The likelihood of successful rehabilitation

Some say that todays juvenile justice laws


place the burden on juveniles to prove that
they can benefit from the protections of the
juvenile court, thereby undermining the
purpose of the juvenile court
Do you think the trend toward waiving
juveniles has led to a reduction in crime or
made it more or less likely that those young
people will re-offend?

Who Is a Juvenile?

Almost all states set age limits to determine


whether a person accused of a crime will be
handled in an adult or juvenile court
In most states, young people are considered

juveniles if under the age of 18


However, some states set the age limit at 16 or 17
In most states, a juvenile charged with a serious
felony can be tried as an adult

Status Offenses

Juveniles who are considered status


offenders are generally charged with being
"beyond control"
In addition to truancy, status offenses include

running away from home, violating curfew, refusing


to obey parents, & engaging in certain behaviors
such as underage consumption of alcohol or drugs

Although there has been a decline in the


number of status offenders in institutions,
females disproportionately outnumber males
by a 10-to-1 ratio
Some people try to claim that the courts try to play

the role of father & are therefore more restrictive of


female behavior
Others point to the obvious biases in laws
governing juveniles

Still others claim that females are simply more likely to


commit status offenses, while males more often commit
delinquent acts
While there is a focus on persons in need of supervision
(PINS), a large portion of the work of juvenile courts
involves children in need of assistance (CINA)
For example, if a runaway can prove that he or she has been

abused or neglected at home, several forms of assistance


may be available
This is a major reason why the juvenile justice system has a
different focus than the adult system

Juvenile Justice Today

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that


juveniles charged with delinquent acts are
entitled to many of the same rights as adults
charged with a crime
This includes the right
to be notified of the charges against them,
the right to an attorney,
the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses,
and the right to remain silent

Juveniles, like adults, must be found guilty


beyond a reasonable doubt
However, not all of the procedures used in an

adult court are appropriate for juvenile courts

Juvenile Court Reform

Even setting the discussion of waivers aside,


the perspective of those who want to get
tough on crime has influenced changes for
young people who stay within the juvenile
system
Many critics of indeterminate sentencing claim
that juveniles get off easy for violent crimes &
commit crimes knowing that the punishment is
relatively light

This perspective has resulted in the revision of


juvenile codes in a number of states, resulting in
dramatic shifts in dispositional, or sentencing,
practices
Serious & violent juvenile offenders are receiving
blended sentences in which they get both juvenile
& adult sanctions
For instance, juveniles may spend a portion of their

confinement in a juvenile institution & then be transferred


to an adult institution upon reaching a certain age, such
as 18

Also, for violent & serious offenses, juveniles


are now receiving mandatory minimum
sentences
Some states now have sentencing guidelines
that proscribe narrow limits for dispositions

Critics of these changes think the new laws


are motivated by an inaccurate view of the
extent of juvenile crime
They say that juvenile crime is decreasing, not

increasing
They also believe these reforms are not good for
kids & that they undermine the goals of
rehabilitation upon which the juvenile system is
based

One such debate concerns whether juveniles


should be ordered to pay restitution to victims
or the crimes they committed
Some juvenile courts have restitution programs &

some require juveniles to meet face-to-face with


their victims
Over 30 states have instituted boot camps
designed to teach youth offenders self-discipline &
respect for the law, but the results have been
mixed & abuses of authority have been reported

The ABA Juvenile Justice Center, as well as


numerous child legal advocacy groups, have
also raised concerns about juveniles access
to quality legal representation in delinquency
proceedings
They say the spirit & promise of the Gault

decision has been largely unfilled

A study by the ABA focused in Maryland, but


intended to serve as a nationwide model,
identifies the following concerns:
Poor children do not have equal access to counsel

because they often waive their right to counsel w/o


understanding the significance of doing so
For those poor respondents who do exercise their
right to counsel, it is not offered at every step of the
juvenile process, which undermines the case of the
child

The majority of youths in detention were incarcerated w/o

effective representation
Many attorneys representing young people arent
adequately prepared to help their clients in transfer
(waiver) hearings a well as in hearings about delinquency
& disposition (sentences)
Minorities are overrepresented in the juvenile justice
system
Girls present unique issues in the juvenile courts because
the rehabilitation services typically provided for charges
they commonly face (nonviolent offenses, status offenses,
& parole violations) are often proven ineffective

Disproportionate Minority Confinement

Disproportionate minority confinement is a


concern in the adult criminal justice system as
well as in the juvenile justice system
According to a Dec. 1999 report by the U.S. Dept.

of Justice, the overrepresentation of African


American juveniles occurs at all stages of the
juvenile justice process

While African American juveniles were


involved in 39% of crimes reported by victims,
they accounted for a disproportionate share of
violent crime arrests (44%) & confinement
(45%) in 1996-1997
Latino youths are also overrepresented in
detention facilities, & racial minorities as a
whole accounted for 70% of youths held in
custody for violent offenses

The U.S. Dept. of Justice further reports that


minority offenders are held in residential
placement longer than other juveniles & that
disproportionate minority confinement often
stems from disparity at early stages of case
processing

The 2003 report And Justice for Some by


Building Blocks for Youth, a coalition of groups
who advocate policies to protect minority youths &
to improve juvenile justice policies, revealed the
following trends:
African American youths are under-represented in

treatment programs
Nationally, the average length of stay for Latino youths
in a public facility for a drug offense is double the
length of stay for white youths
(306 days vs. 144 days)

Hispanic youths with no prior juvenile


commitments who are charged with drug
offenses are 13x more likely to be assigned to
locked custody than white youths
African American youths with no prior
commitment record are 48x more likely to be
assigned to locked custody than white youths
with similar records

Juvenile Court Records

Is it right or just or fair that juveniles dont


have criminal records?
Although juvenile delinquents do not have a
criminal record, their juvenile record can follow
them into life
For a person to be eligible to have a juvenile
record expunged, most states require that several
years have passed since the offense & that the
person not have committed any further offenses
during that time

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