...cover the subject of “Trying Juveniles as Adults”. This has brought up a very controversial topic that people seem to be very passionate about. The rate of minors committing horrendous crimes has been on a steady rise for the past couple of decades (DOJ National Report Series Bulletin, 2011). There are many differences between the court system for Juveniles and the justice system for adults. In Juvenile courts there are no juries and no trails by jury either. In adult courts the sentencing is much harsher and the chance of getting off the hook with some counseling is very slim. If a juvenile is defined as a person under the age of 18, how can you justify trying them in a court designed for adult offenders? Some juvenile cases get transferred to adult criminal court through a process called a “waiver”—when a judge waives the protections that juvenile court provides (www.ojjdp.gov). Usually, juvenile cases that are subject to waiver involve more serious crimes, or minors who have been in trouble before (nolo.com/juveniles youth adult criminal court). Being tried as an adult gives a juvenile more constitutional protections, but it also has disadvantages such as losing the juvenile protections as well. Depending on the crime of the minor, both court systems can punish the individual, but which court can give the appropriate punishment or the “crime”, not the age of the person committing the crime? The big question now is should we the courts show more sympathy and compassion...
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... 06/13/2013 Juvenile justice in Virginia is based on the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, which was passed in 1974 by US Congress. It stated that all states should provide the best rehabilitation for people who are too young to bear criminal responsibility for their actions (US Dept. of Justice, 1974). The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice has a set values statement, which determines the attitude to juveniles in criminal justice and respectful treatment provided by law enforcement officers to them. Juveniles in criminal justice are Virginia are treated as a specific group and have extended rights compared to adult offenders. Juveniles have their correctional centers and detention facilities, but the maximum sentence there cannot be too long because Virginia has not enough bed spaces to detain all juveniles who have problems with the law. The values of knowledge, respect and effective communication are realized in addressing juvenile cases in the court. Juvenile court is represented by Juvenile and Domestic Relations District courts in Virginia. However, there are certain cases when juvenile offenders can be tried in criminal court. According to Powers (2009), previously juvenile cases were heard in juvenile courts only. It was extremely difficult to transfer the case of juvenile offender (even the most violent) to the adult court. The latest US tendencies show that all states are trying to make...
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...B) Alternative Approaches Maryland Maryland’s rising juvenile rate has made the state become more of restorative justice and more so a system of graduated sanctions in those sanctions there is three basic goals: public safety and community protection; offender accountability; and competency and character development. In other hand these ideas give Maryland to go to new directions (Simms, 2008). In Maryland the juvenile justice system is different than most states. The “The juvenile court may waive its jurisdiction with respect to a petition alleging delinquency if the petition concerns a child who is at least 15 years old or a child who is charged with committing an act which, if committed by an adult, would be punishable by death or life imprisonment. The court may waive its jurisdiction only after it has conducted a waiver hearing held prior to the adjudicatory hearing and after notice has been given to all parties. The court may not waive its jurisdiction over a case unless it determines, from a preponderance of the evidence presented at the hearing, that the child is an unfit subject for juvenile rehabilitative measures”. (Chapter 8) furthermore, in Maryland the juvenile courts handles all case that deal with juvenile. However, any juvenal that committed a crime that if the adults could be punished by death than the juvenal gets waived and also the child have to be at least 14 years old at the time the crime was committed(Delegate Montague, et al, 2002) . In additions...
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...Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults Hope Penson Effective Essay Writing/ Com 150 March 28, 2010 Instructor: Brandy W. Kreisler Should Juveniles be tried as Adults? The United States is the world leader in convicting children as adults. Unfortunately once a child is charged as an adult the likelihood of a fair trial is very small. Over the past 30 years there have been changes in many states laws which have led to a dramatic increase in the number of juveniles tried as adults and housed in adult jails and prisons. These get tough laws have made it easier for more and younger juvenile offenders to be prosecuted in criminal court. The purpose of juvenile court is to treat, not deter. Changing the social environment in which juveniles live is a more effective way to reduce juvenile violence than punishing the juvenile offenders in adult courts. The premise of the juvenile court is sound since children have not filly matured, they shouldn’t be held to the same standards of accountability as adults. In some states certain juvenile offenders are automatically tried as adults. Even though juveniles are committing serious crimes at an alarming rate they are not being reformed because juveniles being charged as adults do not comprehend the nature of their crimes. What is America to do? Is charging them as adults reforming them or contributing to the problem once they return to society. The Illinois Juvenile Court...
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...Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile delinquency has been on the decline in recent years. The study of the variables, and distinction between the adult and juvenile systems, has helped in the decline. Delinquency is a criminal behavior that is committed by a juvenile. Depending on where in the United States the juvenile lives, they will be considered an adult between the ages of 16 to 18. This age has been lowered for serious crimes like murder. In those cases, juveniles have been tried as adults in court. Delinquency refers to conduct that does not conform to legal or moral standards of society; it usually applies only to acts that, if performed by an adult, would be termed criminal (“Encyclopedia Britannica”, 2013). This helps to distinguish delinquency from a status offense. Status offense is a word used in the United States to describe acts that when committed by a juvenile are illegal, but not when an adult does it is legal. These offenses are considered to be a violation because the individual is...
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...Chapter One – Introduction 1.1: Introduction 1.2: Origin of the study 1.3: Objectives of the study 1.4: Data collection process 1.5: Limitations 1.1: Introduction Juvenile Delinquency is a terrible problem in the unequal management system of society of the modern world. Juvenile Delinquency is increasing for the fast and speedy development of Industrialization and Urbanization. Industrialization and Urbanization make changes the Family structure which increases the propensity of Juvenile Delinquency. A large scale of people has been shifted to City town from rural area and keeps staying in the abdomen. This also increases Juvenile Delinquency. Now Juvenile Delinquency has emerged as a matter of concern in Bangladesh in recent times with the number of children and young people involved in "criminal activities" rising at an alarming rate. In most of the cases this is not a deliberate choice for the children. Numerous social factors coupled with poor parenting, family troubles and above all extreme poverty are pushing these children to this anti-social position. A child is born innocent and if nourished with tender care and attention, he or she will be blossom with faculties physical, mental, moral and spiritual into a person of stature and excellence. On the other hand, noxious surroundings, neglect of basic needs, bad company and other abuses and temptations would spoil the child and likely to turn him a delinquent. Therefore, expressing his concern for Child...
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...Juvenile Criminology Student’s name Institution My discussion question Adult prison system is unsuitable to meet the needs of young offenders as shown by various research studies. The process of maintaining public safety, successful integration of young offenders to the community, rehabilitation, skill development and treatment are the main goals of the juvenile system. As suggested by Howell, (2003), justice can never be served by forcing juveniles through a system never intended to process teenagers, moreover transfer laws have worsened the implications they intend to address. Juvenile justice system was essentially established because many teenagers were subjected to awful violations in adult jails and prisons hence resulting to the society as more hardened criminals. Placing young offenders in adult prisons heightens criminal behaviors after release according to the findings. There is well founded fear that several number of young offenders slated to be placed in adult jails are more likely to be assaulted ,commit suicide and raped. Juveniles are driven to desperation and abused regularly in adult prisons because they are not specific measures to protect the young offenders from the adult prisoners. My completes work Case summary Issue Roper v. Simmons’ main issue is whether the application of Death penalty on a person who committed murder at age 17 amounts to “Cruel and Unusual” sentence and thereby barred by the 8th and 14th Amendments (Dinkes, et al 2009) Facts The...
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...Margie P. Permenter CJ 606: The Transferring of Juvenile Offenders Commentary Three Dr. Yaschica Williams The most serious juvenile crimes have always been the political Achilles’ heel of the American juvenile court Fagan & Zimring (2000). Even when public opinion is tolerant of juvenile delinquency, the teen killer is the nightmare case for the juvenile justice system. In an age where the phrase juvenile super predator is often heard in the federal congress and state legislatures, the deep-end adolescent offender is a particular threat to public acceptance of the mission and objectives of juvenile justice. It is little wonder, then, that legislation concerning transfer is a near-universal feature of the politics of juvenile justice. The traditionally stated purpose of judicial wavier is to permit individualization of the decision whether a particular person is capable of being rehabilitated in the juvenile system-the amenability decision Fagan & Zimring (2000). In addition, the judicial wavier procedure provides a safety value for the juvenile system to exclude children who commit offenses that are believed to require the imposition of sanction that are beyond the capacity of the juvenile system to provide. Some form of judicial wavier or a substitute safety value is necessary in order to preserve the juvenile justice system politically within the context of modern penological expectations. It is difficult empirically to evaluate the contemporary role of judicial...
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...History of Juvenile Justice System Roger King University of Mount Olive Juvenile Justice Systems and Processes CJC 310 Timothy Malfitano February 7, 2015 Abstract This paper will discuss the history of the juvenile justice system. I started this paper by looking at the history of the juvenile justice system, which showed how laws and legal measures involving juvenile offenders have an extensive history. There were no isolated courts or laws, and no services for juveniles, up till the 19th century, children who committed serious offenses were punished and restrained in prison the same way as adults. The changes in legislation rose the age at which individuals officially became adults. This change helped many juveniles escape the cruel treatment in the adult prisons. These changes were based on new understanding of the relationship between physical, mental maturity and acknowledgment. The American juvenile justice system has evolved over the past century with variation that embellished from the adult criminal justice process. The first juvenile's court was acknowledged in 1899, in Chicago, Illinois, and by1945, all states had juvenile courts. The juvenile crime rates particularly homicide rose during the 1980s and 1990s. Therefor the system faces a vast of questions about whether young offenders should be tried and sentenced in a different way than adult offenders (Lawrence & Hemmens, 2008, Chapter 1). The juvenile courts wanted to turn young felons into...
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...Future of the Juvenile Justice System Lashanna Banks-Augustus Bryan Knight Samantha Mathis Barbara Minish Jenny Sutton CJA 374 July 2, 2012 Mecca Brown The Future of the Juvenile Justice System In 1899 the first separate Juvenile Court system opened in the United Sates. The Juvenile Justice system design was to separate juvenile delinquents from adult criminals. Documentation proves that juveniles do not have the maturity level or the responsibility level of an adult to receive the same punishment as adults should. Juvenile Justice System main focus is rehabilitation as a replacement for punishment in which the adult court system focuses on punishment. The juvenile system methods are based on causation theories throughout history. However, with new trends comes new theories and with new theories comes a new wave of both rehabilitation techniques and designing those techniques to fit each juvenile personal needs; proving that change is in need throughout the different areas of the juvenile justice system. Community Community helps juveniles in different ways. Juvenile law will place them accountable for their actions. The community can help to hold the youths accountable for each of their delinquent actions. The community could help intervene by providing an effective intervention for the offender and to have the child protection protect the neglect or abused juveniles (The future of children). Each community should help develop different programs that will help...
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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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...When an adolescent commits a crime, should that make them an adult in the eyes of the law? Or should their age be considered and acknowledged as a shortcoming of a undeveloped mind, impacting their capacity for not fully comprehending their actions? These questions have plagued the juvenile justice system both in our current time and its history. The choice between harsh punishment or attentive rehabilitation as convictions for youth offenders I think the best choice is rehabilitation because it gives juveniles to another shot. Youth offenders are different from adult offenders biologically and this should pose a greater impact in the sentencing made on the adolescents in the juvenile justice system . Punitive punishment have...
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...Criminal Law Foundations Evaluation the Juvenile Justice System Juvenile justice is the section of law that applies to persons under the age of 18 not capable of receiving sentencing in the adult court system or old enough to be responsible for criminal acts committed in society. In most states the age of criminal culpability is 18 however, the age requirement can be set lower in accordance to certain crimes and statutes set by the state the juvenile lives in. Juvenile law is primarily run by state law and most states enforce a specific juvenile code the system follows. The juvenile justice system primarily focuses on rehabilitation rather than punishment for youthful offenders. Society appears to concentrate that children are more capable of change than adult offenders more capable of knowing right from wrong ("Cornell University Law School," nod.). The statutes creating the juvenile court systems and methods of allocating with juvenile delinquency are run by courts as a suitable extension of state police power to warrant the safety and welfare of children in the system. The doctrine of parent’s patria allows the state to promulgate for the safeguard, care, custody, and upkeep of children within its jurisdiction. In 1968 the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act was put into effect, and in 1972 it was put into revision as the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act. This act set forth to assist states in dealing with juvenile delinquent acts and assist communities to...
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...Causes of Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile Justice Causes of Juvenile Delinquency The causes of juvenile delinquency are many. Some experts would say that juvenile delinquency has its roots in a biological cause. Other experts will assert that the cause is of an environmental nature. In this research paper, the author will examine both theories and present both supporting and contradicting evidence for both theories. However, before he can begin, the author must give a brief history of the juvenile justice system in the United States and how that system has handled juvenile delinquency thus far. In the days of old, juvenile justice was an unheard of concept. Most nations did not make a distinction between a juvenile and an adult (Bartollas & Miller, 2011). The court systems of early nations simply held the belief that an offender needed to be punished for a crime the same way no matter what the age of the offender. This led to children being punished in the same manner as adults. Early court systems did not recognize that juvenile offenders had different needs and motives than adults (Bartollas & Miller, 2011). It is fair to say that this fact is erroneous in every aspect. This tradition continued into the mid-1800s. In England, for example, “some 160-200 capital offenses were listed in the statutes for which children could be executed.” (Bartollas & Miller, 2011, p. 5). This is an amazing statistic. Knowing that young children could be executed sheds...
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...2014 Minors and Violent Crimes Juvenile crime has been a national crisis for quite some time. Research from 2010 showed that there were approximately 225 arrests for violent crime offences for every 100,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 17. The violent crimes committed by juveniles has been reported to be at its highest during the after school hours. Research has also shown that approximately 8% of all homicides in the U.S. were committed by juvenile offenders (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention). These alarming statistics prove that minors should be held accountable and be tried as adults in the judicial system. Some may argue that minors have a better chance of being rehabilitated but at the same time minors could become “career criminals”. Steinberg (2001) remarks with the following: Variability among individuals older than 12, but younger than 16, requires that some sort of individualized assessment of an offender's competence to stand trial, blameworthiness, and likely amenability to treatment be made before reaching a transfer decision. The U.S. judicial system should treat minors who commit violent crimes as adults to enforce accountability, to prevent repeat offenders, and to deter others. Factoring Accountability Holding teens accountable for the violent crimes they commit by punishing them as an adult is a social complexity but it is incumbent. Some may view a minor being tried as an adult as immoral, despite the crime committed...
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