Download Clients of the Juvenile Court

Chapter 17
Juvenile Justice
Parens Patriae
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Philosophic basis for juvenile courts in America at the turn of the
century
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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
Four Approaches to Juvenile Justice Systems

The juvenile court is primarily a treatment agency
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The juvenile court should focus on punishment and discipline of
the serious juvenile offender
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Due process should be followed by juvenile courts
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Balanced and restorative justice model that calls for
accountability, program development and community protection
Child-Saving Movement

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
New York House of Refuge: 1825

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
Criticisms of the Child Savers

Reforms expressed the vested interests of a particular social
group

Further continuance of middle- and upper-class values

System furthered child labor systems
Reforms

Shift from massive industrial schools to cottage system in late
eighteenth century

Introduction of psychological treatment in the 1950s
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Due process rights extended to juveniles in the 1960s
Early Juvenile Courts
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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
Clients of the Juvenile Court

Juvenile delinquents:


Status offenders:


Those under the age of majority who commit a crime
Persons or children in need of supervision (PINS or CHINS)
Neglected, deprived, abused and abandoned children
Juvenile Offenses

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
Advocated Changes to the Current Juvenile Courts

Divert more delinquents to adult criminal court
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Remove status offenses from the court’s jurisdiction
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Expansion of the court’s role over abuse and neglect cases
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Creating a unified family court
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Using alternative dispute resolution
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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.
Processing the Juvenile Offender

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
Factors Associated with the Arrest of Juveniles

Type and seriousness of offense
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Ability of parents to discipline
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Past contacts with the police
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Degree of cooperation from child and parents
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Whether the child denies the allegations and insists on a hearing
School Searches

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
The Adjudicatory Proceeding
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Two phases:
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Initial appearance
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Fact finding hearing

In re Gault (1967) provides for fundamental fairness:

Notice of the charges

The right to counsel
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The right to confront and cross-examine witnesses
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The privilege against self-incrimination
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The right to a transcript of the trial record
Constitutional Rights and Juvenile Trials
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Required elements include
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Due process
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Fair notice of charges
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Legal representation
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Confrontation of witnesses
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Proof beyond a reasonable doubt
Right to trial by jury is not included
Juvenile Detention
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Need to protect the child
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Dangerousness of the juvenile
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Likelihood that the juvenile will abscond
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Separation of status offenders and delinquents
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Separation of youth from adult offenders
Juvenile Plea Bargaining

When the child makes an admission, juvenile courts require the
following procedural safeguards:
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The child knows of the right to a trial
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The plea or admission is made voluntarily
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The child understands the charges and consequences of the plea
Waiver of Jurisdiction
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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
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Most commonly considered are:

The child’s age
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The nature of the offense alleged in the petition
Legal Controls Over Waiver to Adult Court

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.
Youths in Adult Court

All states allow juveniles to be tried as adults in criminal courts in one
of four ways:
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Concurrent jurisdiction
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Excluded offenses
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Judicial waiver
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Reverse waiver
Prevailing Juvenile Court Dispositions
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Dismissal of the petition
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Suspended judgment
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Probation
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Placement in a community treatment program
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Commitment to the state agency responsible for juvenile
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institutional care
Post-Disposition
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Aftercare in the juvenile equivalent to parole
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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
Institutionalization
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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 and Population Trends

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.
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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.
Deinstitutionalization
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There has been an ongoing effort for almost 30 years to
deinstitutionalize status offenders.
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Some authorities have argued that early intervention is society’s best
hope of forestalling future delinquent behavior and reducing
victimization.
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Since Congress passed the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Act of 1974, all 50 states have complied with some
aspect of the deinstitutionalization mandate.
Community Strategies Aimed at Delinquency Prevention

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
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Communities That Care
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SafeFutures Initiative
Current Issues in Juvenile Justice
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Parental responsibility statutes holding parents criminally and civilly
responsible for crime of their children
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Increased openness and use of previously confidential juvenile
records
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New statutes to curb the availability of guns to juveniles
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Re-emergence of youth gangs
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Abolition of the Juvenile Court