...CheckPoint: Juvenile Court Process The first encounter a youth has with the juvenile justice system is usually his or her arrest by a law enforcement official. Other ways that youth enter the system include "referrals" by parents and schools, delinquency victims, and probation officers. A decision is usually made after arrest as to whether a youth should be detained and charged, released, or transferred into another youth welfare program. When a juvenile court case reaches the juvenile probation department, an intake officer will decide whether to dismiss it, handle it informally, or hear it formally. To make this decision the officer reviews the facts surrounding the case to decide if there is enough information to try the youth. If the court has received adequate evidence to hear the case, a decision will be made as to whether the juvenile case should be heard formally or informally. Approximately 50 percent of all juvenile justice cases are heard informally, and among these, most are dismissed. Cases receive an "informal disposition" by a judge when a youth admits guilt and agrees to settle the charges by meeting the requirements of the court, which are laid out in a "consent decree." Among these requirements may be: • Restitution - juvenile is required to reimburse the victim or pay a fine to the community for damages he has caused. • Mandatory curfew - juvenile is subject to a strict curfew. • School attendance - juvenile is required to attend school regularly. • Rehabilitation...
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...The treatment of juveniles in the United States started to change during the nineteenth century. Special facilities were created for troubled juveniles especially in large cities. The Society for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency created the New York House of Refuge to house juvenile delinquents in 1825. In 1899, the first juvenile justice system was created in Cook County, Illinois, and it was a separate system from the adult one. This system took into consideration a youth’s intellectual, social, moral, and emotional development and worked to rehabilitate and treat more than punish offenders who are under the age of eighteen. Within twenty-five years, most states had set up juvenile court systems. William Blackstone, one of the most...
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...State Daily, “Murder cases among 14-17 year olds have increased 160 percent between the years 1984 and 1999.” Sadly, these fourteen to seventeen-year-olds are still being categorized as juveniles, and are therefore tried in juvenile courts where they do not get a satisfying punishment. Today society gives these juveniles the right to vote at the age of eighteen; the fact is that when society declares an eighteen-year-old as an adult is such a random standard to determine one’s maturity as far as their crimes go. “We used to deal mostly with kids breaking street lights and now routinely people are seeing rape and robbery” claimed Harry Shorstein, a state attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit in Jacksonville, FL. (Hunzeker)....
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...Future of the Juvenile Justice System Courts: Many changes need to happen to allow a better future of the juvenile justice system. “The elimination of some of the court’s delinquency function as more and more jurisdiction over youth criminality is transferred to the adult criminal system. Another possibility is the removal or reduction from juvenile court jurisdiction of status offenses, including truancy, beyond control of parents, running away from home, and other noncriminal conduct. Instead of utilizing the juvenile court, this type of behavior would beaddressed increasingly by community-based services. A third possibility is the juvenile court’s expanding jurisdiction over abuse and neglect cases.Oversight of abuse and neglect cases and of the social service agencies whichdeliver services to families has become a major portion of the work of the juvenile court” (Hanson, 1996) . “The juvenile court of the future should be able to take advantage of community resources more effectively by turning to volunteers and public-private partnerships for support. Communities seem ready to give their time and resources to children and families. The challenge for each court will be to identify the most effective ways by which communities can be organized to work with the court on behalf of children” (Hanson, 1996). Corrections: There are a few sections that need to be addressed in order to make a better future for juvenile justice system. The points are as follows: I. Create...
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...Every state has uncommon courts, normally called juvenile courts, to manage minors who have been blamed for damaging a criminal statute. Adolescent courts are a uniquely twentieth century advancement. The outcome was the production of particular courts to manage what were thought to be uniquely youth-arranged issues. The transactions are thoughtful rather than criminal. Thus, as opposed to being formally accused of a wrongdoing, adolescent wrongdoers are blamed for conferring a reprobate demonstration. An adolescent case begins when a prosecutor or post trial agent records a common appeal, accusing the adolescent of abusing a criminal statute and asking that the court discover that the adolescent is reprobate. In the event that the charges...
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...The juvenile justice system is, primarily, made up of many informal procedures. This system is based on the parens patriae philosophy, and is structured towards helping juvenile offenders, as opposed to, hindering them. However, if a juvenile is suspected of committing a crime, there are several procedures in place to help determine if the adolescent, did in fact, break the law. For example, if an adolescent is suspected of violating the law, law enforcement officers will begin an investigation. There are several things that officers look for during an active investigation, such as, the nature of the offense, and any past criminal history. If the initial investigation provides fruitful information, the officers have the right to file for a...
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...After reading the assigned text I have come to find out the juvenile court system differs from the adult courts in many ways. However, the juvenile court system has many similarities as the adult system as well. The difference between the juvenile courts and the adults courts are, the juvenile courts emphasize helping the child, rehabilitating the child. The juvenile courts are informal, rules of evidence and rules of procedures have little relevance in juvenile proceedings. Juvenile courts are based on civil law, this is the key notion that juvenile courts were intended to rehabilitate, not punish. Juvenile courts are secret, crime victims and ordinary citizens are not allowed in the court sessions and it is illegal for law enforcement personnel and court officials to release the names of juveniles to the media. Juvenile courts rarely involve a jury. Juveniles have no constitutional right to a jury, which is to reinforce the nature...
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...opinion of incarcerating a juvenile with adults in prisons and jails are somewhat skeptical. I believe the biggest factor in determining if a juvenile should be housed with an adult in a prison or jail depends on the historical criminal characteristics of the juvenile and the volume of the crime. Anyone who has spent time in a local courtroom knows the caseloads are significantly larger than criminal or circuit court proceedings, and the prosecution along with the defense counsel seems to speed the process up and get dispositions on all the cases the court docket displays. The same applies to juvenile court as well and I don't think there will ever be an absolute resolution to this. The speedy process undoubtedly loses its grip on rehabilitating a juvenile if they are tried in adult court, as most judges are inexperienced with statutes that deal with juveniles (Siegel & Bartollas, 2014). I believe there is hope among juveniles if they are rehabilitated correctly and they can be molded into a better character as they are assumed to lack having a positive character in their lives that inspire them to simply live a good life, in most cases. Therefore, I do not believe every juvenile should be incarcerated with adults for crimes that don't have a criminal nexus that supersedes a misdemeanor degree or a pattern...
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...Juvenile Court Process: The juvenile legal process involves about 12-17 steps, summarized below: 1. Initial report. Claim of abuse/neglect reported to the CPI from Hotline or 911. CPI investigates ONLY if the caller reporting “appears to be creditable.” 2. Petition filed by CPI. The children taken into temporary custody, within 12-24 hours, depending on the situation and judge’s order. 3. Non-secure custody hearing. Happens 1-7 days after removal of the children. 4. On-going non-secure custody hearing. Occurs within 7 days, and every 30 days thereafter, as the investigation continues. Children’s placement and services are determined. A GAL is assigned depending on resources. 5. Prehearing conference. Discussion by CPI, the DA, parent’s attorneys,...
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...As the President of the Juvenile Case Disposition Commission, it is my job to make recommendations to the Governor, Legislature, and the Courts of the State of Old York concerning juvenile issues. Recently, there has been a national discussion about juvenile cases. Some have argued that the system is too easy for juveniles to abuse while others believe that society does not do enough to take care of the juvenile population. In the case of a young man named Kalief Browder, the argument of society not taking care of the juvenile population is the concerned issue. On May 15, 2010, Browder, sixteen at the time, was returning home with a friend from a party near the Bronx. Several squad cars pulled up on Browder and his friend while shining a spot...
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...There are many differences between the juvenile court system and the adult court system. While the primary focus in juvenile court is treatment, rehabilitation, and community protection, the primary goal of the adult system is punishment, and not rehabilitation (PBS, 2014). Limitations are also placed on public access to juvenile records because of the belief that juvenile offenders can be successfully rehabilitated and to avoid their unnecessary stigmatization. While juvenile hearings are closed to the public, juvenile court proceedings may be closed to the public. In contrast, open public records are required for adults and adult courts are open to the public (PBS, 2014). There are no jury trials in juvenile court and the cases are heard...
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...ITT-tech | Juvenile Justice Supreme Court Cases | Project 2 | | Latisha Lipsey | 7/30/2012 | | Juveniles have been committing crimes since the beginning of time, and they were punished has needed. The problem in today’s world is the youths are starting to commit more crimes, then decades ago, and another issue is how to punish a juvenile for the crime they committed. There are several landmark juvenile cases that were decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The first three cases, Kent v. United States (1966), In re Gault (1967), and In re Winship (1970), are considered to be three biggest cases which opened the doors for the juvenile litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court (Champion, 2010,2007,2004,2001,1998). When the Kent case was decided in 1966, it was much easier for the U.S. Supreme Court to impose its vast precedent setting powers on juvenile courts in all jurisdictions. Then there was other cases including Breed v. Jones that granted various constitutional rights to juveniles (Champion, 2010,2007,2004,2001,1998). In today’s world juvenile courts in all jurisdictions have moved away from traditional approaches to juvenile offending and punishment and onto due process commensurate with adult offenders. The presence of an attorney in juvenile courts is more of a rule then an exception (Champion, 2010,2007,2004,2001,1998) . The history of the evolution of the legal rights of juvenile offenders began in the 1960’s, the Supreme Court required juvenile courts...
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...Drug Courts: Adult and Juvenile Rehabilitation Programs Eugene Berry Crj2200 Introduction to Criminal Courts Drug courts handle nonviolent substance abuse offenders, drug courts are used primarily to solve a problem rather than to send someone to jail or lock an offender away with less chance of rehabilitation. In the United States there are currently almost 2500 drug courts in the 50 states as well as the U.S. territories of Guam, and Puerto Ricco. Drug courts got their start in Florida, in 1989 judge Gerald Wetherington, Judge Herbert Klein, and state attorneys designed the court for non-violent offenders in Miami-Dade County, to battle a rising crack-cocaine problem in there city’s. Drug courts are a program the can involve different levels of intensive supervision by the courts themselves, this includes drug testing and substance abuse clinics or treatment programs. Drug court judges gain a lot of discretion and leeway in this system and can give the offenders instant or gradual sanctions if the offenders fail to meet the standards of the program given. To help keep the offenders compliant the courts can offer fewer drug tests, fewer court dates, and even the possibility of reduced or completely dismissed sentences if they programs are fully completed. Drug courts are proven to keep offenders from repeating their offences and the overall reduction in recidivism rates on these charges. There is research being done today that shows this treatment method could reduce drug...
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...Juveniles and the Constitution There are countless cases involving juveniles and the Constitution. Three of the most notable of these cases are Kent v. United States, In re Gault, and In re Winship. The decisions of the aforementioned cases all played an imperative role in juvenile cases. The case of Kent v. United States involved a sixteen-year-old juvenile by the name of Morris Kent. Kent was arrested for several charges, which included breaking into a woman’s home, robbery, and rape. Kent was on juvenile probation, so the state requested to send his trial to an adult court where he was sentenced a thirty to ninety year prison term. However, the Supreme Court overturned the sentence ruling that juveniles have a right to counsel and a hearing in any case where the juvenile judge considers transferring the case to adult court. This landmark...
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...committed by juveniles should not be tried in adult court. Such arguments have been made on the perception that during the time of the crime, the juvenile was not in a position to clearly understand what the crime entailed. Nonetheless, while this might be true according to those that argue in favor of juveniles being tried in juvenile courts, a hidden reality exists that the social issue behind certain crimes are much more complicated than the allegations made pertaining to juvenile courts and certain crimes. When allegations such as “the juvenile was raised knowing that his behavior was acceptable” are being employed to reason for the juvenile being tried in a juvenile court (even when crimes of homicide are committed) then those who commit capital crimes ought to be penalized by the law as written by the law. Under this presumption alone, anyone who commits capital crime is subject to the penalties of the law. This creates the reasons as to why juveniles should be treated as adults in homicide cases. Research findings by Fox, J....
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