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20th Century Juvenile Legislation

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20th Century Juvenile legislation
It was found that Kent v. United States is a legal case Decided March 21, 1966. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the District of Columbia juvenile court violated the Constitutional rights of Morris A Kent Jr. Today the courts must follow the precedent set in Kent v. United States when it comes to waiving juveniles to be tried as adults. The fundamental mistake made by the District of Columbia was the lack of a waiver hearing when the decision was made to try Kent as an adult; the lack of a waiver hearing constitutes a due process violation. At a waiver hearing the prosecutor and defense attorney present evidence on whether or not the juvenile should be waivered to an adult court (Taylor/Fritsch, 2011). Supreme Court of the United States overturned the conviction of Kent and ruled that a juvenile has due process rights if being waived to an adult court (Taylor/Fritsch, 2011). The Court ruled the waiver invalid, stating that Kent was entitled to a hearing that measured up to "the essentials of due process and fair treatment". Kent's counsel should have had access to all records involved in the waiver, and that the judge should have provided a written statement of the reasons for waiver (ncjrs, 1999, para. 5 internet). This paper examines Taylor/Fritsch’s research to understand juvenile legislation. Kent v. United States is legislation that shaped the treatment of juvenile offenders/delinquents. This legislation contributed to the system in place today by clearly defining the rights of juveniles being tried as adults. According to the parens patriae doctrine the juvenile court should act as the juvenile‘s parents. The best interest and rehabilitation of the juvenile should be the goal of the courts. When the 20th century came the courts started moving away from this doctrine and began to simply punish juvenile

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