Juvenile Justice

Chapter 17

Philosophic basis for juvenile courts in America at the turn of the

century

It meant that the state was to act on behalf of the parent in the

interests of the child

Beginning in the 1960s, the emphasis began to focus on a due

process approach for juveniles

Parens Patriae

The juvenile court is primarily a treatment agency

The juvenile court should focus on punishment and discipline of

the serious juvenile offender

Due process should be followed by juvenile courts

Balanced and restorative justice model that calls for

accountability, program development and community protection

Four Approaches to Juvenile Justice Systems

Wealthy, civic-minded citizens attempted to alleviate the burdens

of the unfortunate urban classes and immigrants through

sponsoring shelter care for youths, educational and social

activities and the development of settlement houses

Child-Saving Movement

Housed what would be called status offenders as well as

delinquents

Aim was to protect youth by taking potential criminals off the

street

In reality it was run like a prison

New York House of Refuge: 1825

Reforms expressed the vested interests of a particular social

group

Further continuance of middle- and upper-class values

System furthered child labor systems

Criticisms of the Child Savers

Shift from massive industrial schools to cottage system in late

eighteenth century

Introduction of psychological treatment in the 1950s

Due process rights extended to juveniles in the 1960s

Reforms

Operated in the “best interest of the child”

Personalized justice

Were paternalistic

Operated in a quasi-legal format

Denied right of appeal

Attorneys were not required

Hearsay evidence was admissible

Preponderance of the evidence was required

Early Juvenile Courts

Juvenile delinquents:

Those under the age of majority who commit a crime

Status offenders:

Persons or children in need of supervision (PINS or CHINS)

Neglected, deprived, abused and abandoned children

Clients of the Juvenile Court

Delinquency

Behavior that would be criminal if committed by adults

Status offense

Behavior that is illegal only if children engage in it, e.g., truancy

and running away

Juvenile Offenses

Divert more delinquents to adult criminal court

Remove status offenses from the court’s jurisdiction

Expansion of the court’s role over abuse and neglect cases

Creating a unified family court

Using alternative dispute resolution

Integrating the juvenile court with the private sector and volunteer resources

Creating a comprehensive court system where there is an appropriate

response to each child that comes before the court

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is an excellent

resource for information of the juvenile justice system.

Advocated Changes to the Current Juvenile Courts

The number of juvenile arrests has been declining

Most larger police departments have separate juvenile units.

Most states do not have specific statutory provisions distinguishing

the arrest process for children from that of adults

Processing the Juvenile Offender

Type and seriousness of offense

Ability of parents to discipline

Past contacts with the police

Degree of cooperation from child and parents

Whether the child denies the allegations and insists on a hearing

Factors Associated with the Arrest of Juveniles

New Jersey v. T.L.O.

The need to maintain an orderly educational environment

modified the usual Fourth Amendment requirements of warrants

and found school searches to be reasonable

Drug Testing

A drug testing policy serves a school district’s interest in

protecting its students’ safety and health

School Searches

Two phases:

Initial appearance

Fact finding hearing

In re Gault (1967) provides for fundamental fairness:

Notice of the charges

The right to counsel

The right to confront and cross-examine witnesses

The privilege against self-incrimination

The right to a transcript of the trial record

The Adjudicatory Proceeding

Required elements include

Due process

Fair notice of charges

Legal representation

Confrontation of witnesses

Proof beyond a reasonable doubt

Right to trial by jury is not included

Constitutional Rights and Juvenile Trials

Need to protect the child

Dangerousness of the juvenile

Likelihood that the juvenile will abscond

Separation of status offenders and delinquents

Separation of youth from adult offenders

Juvenile Detention

When the child makes an admission, juvenile courts require the

following procedural safeguards:

The child knows of the right to a trial

The plea or admission is made voluntarily

The child understands the charges and consequences of the plea

Juvenile Plea Bargaining

The transfer of a juvenile to the criminal court is often based on

statutory criteria established by the state’s juvenile court act, so

waiver provisions vary considerable among jurisdictions

Most commonly considered are:

The child’s age

The nature of the offense alleged in the petition

Waiver of Jurisdiction

Kent v. United States (1966) – The Supreme Court held that the

waiver proceeding is a critically important stage in the juvenile justice

process and that juveniles must be afforded minimum requirements

of due process of law, including the right to legal counsel.

Breed v. Jones (1975) – The Supreme Court held that the

prosecution of juveniles as adults in the California Superior Court

violated the double jeopardy clause of the 5th Amendment if they

previously had been tried on the same charge in juvenile court.

Legal Controls Over Waiver to Adult Court

All states allow juveniles to be tried as adults in criminal courts in one

of four ways:

Concurrent jurisdiction

Excluded offenses

Judicial waiver

Reverse waiver

Youths in Adult Court

Dismissal of the petition

Suspended judgment

Probation

Placement in a community treatment program

Commitment to the state agency responsible for juvenile

institutional care

Prevailing Juvenile Court Dispositions

Aftercare in the juvenile equivalent to parole

Purpose of aftercare is to help youths make the transition from

residential or institutional settings back into the community

Aftercare may include treatment referrals, education, vocational

training or other services

U.S. Supreme Court has not imposed full procedural protections in

revocation proceedings

Post-Disposition

The committed child may be sent to a state training school or private

residential treatment facility.

Most state statutes vary when determining the length of the child’s

commitment. Most jurisdictions have the ability to commit the child

up to their majority age.

Once the juvenile has been committed by a court, there is a great

deal of difference in the way the states determine the juvenile’s

placement, length of stay and eventual release

The Council of Juvenile Correction Administrators is dedicated to the

improvement of juvenile correctional services and practices.

Institutionalization

The typical resident of a juvenile facility is a 15- to 16-year-old white

male incarcerated for an average stay of 5 months in a public facility

or 6 months in a private facility.

Private facilities tend to house younger youths, while public

institutions provide custodial care for older youths.

Minority youths are incarcerated at a rate 2 to 5 times that of white

youths.

Minority youths accused of delinquent acts are less likely than white

youths to be diverted from the court system into informal sanction

and are more likely to receive sentences involving incarceration.

Institutionalization and Population Trends

There has been an ongoing effort for almost 30 years to

deinstitutionalize status offenders.

Some authorities have argued that early intervention is society’s best

hope of forestalling future delinquent behavior and reducing

victimization.

Since Congress passed the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention Act of 1974, all 50 states have complied with some

aspect of the deinstitutionalization mandate.

Deinstitutionalization

Comprehensive community-based delinquency prevention programs

are made up of a range of different types of interventions and

typically involve an equally diverse group of community and

government agencies that are concerned with the problem of juvenile

delinquency. Some of the programs are:

Children At Risk

Communities That Care

SafeFutures Initiative

Community Strategies Aimed at Delinquency Prevention

Parental responsibility statutes holding parents criminally and civilly

responsible for crime of their children

Increased openness and use of previously confidential juvenile

records

New statutes to curb the availability of guns to juveniles

Re-emergence of youth gangs

Abolition of the Juvenile Court

Current Issues in Juvenile Justice