The Juvenile Justice System
Chapter 15
Introduction to Criminal Justice 2003:
A Microsoft® PowerPoint® Tool
Slides prepared by:
Larry Bassi
SUNY Brockport
© 2002 Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Parens Patriae
• 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 1960’s the emphasis began
to focus on a due process approach for
juveniles.
Child-Saving
Movement
Wealthy, civic-minded citizens
attempted to alleviate the burdens of
the unfortunate urban classes and the
immigrants through sponsoring
shelter care for youths, educational
and social activities and the
development of settlement houses.
Criticisms of the Child Savers
• System furthered child labor
systems
• Reforms expressed the vested
interests of a particular social
group
• Furthered continuance of middle and upper-class values
Clients of the Juvenile Court
• 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.
Status Offenses
Early Juvenile Courts
•Operated in the “best interests of the child”
•Personalized justice
•Paternalistic
•Quasi-therapeutic
•Quasi-legal
•Denied right of appeal
•Attorneys were not required
•Hearsay evidence was admissible
•Preponderance of evidence required
Important Juvenile Justice Reform
Cases
 Kent v. United States
 The Supreme Court of the United States ruled
that juvenile court proceedings must afford
juveniles basic due process rights to a fair
hearing.
Important Juvenile Justice Reform
Cases
• In re Gault
– The Supreme Court ruled that to satisfy due
process requirements in a juvenile proceeding
that resulted in commitment to a correctional
facility, the juvenile must receive adequate
written notice that a hearing was scheduled and
advice about the right to counsel and the right to
confront and cross-examine witnesses.
Important Juvenile Justice Reform
Cases
• In re Winship
– The Court ruled that the due process clause required
that juvenile proceedings provide proof beyond a
reasonable doubt in order to classify juveniles as
delinquent in juvenile court proceedings.
Important Juvenile Justice Reform
Cases
• McKeiver v. Pennsylvania
– Due process does not require the right to
trial by jury in delinquency proceedings in
juvenile courts.
Modern Juvenile Courts
• Adversarial in nature
• Concerned with control of the
chronic offender
• Tougher sentencing laws
• Earlier waiver to adult court
jurisdiction
Age and
mens rea
•Common law age of competency was 7 years old
•Between 7 - 14 a child could plead infancy
•Today most states set 14 years as the minimum
age to be tried as an adult
Age and Mens Rea
The
Minimum Age
at Which a
Juvenile Can
Be Tried as
an Adult
Factors Effecting Police Action
Nature
Factors Effecting
of the
Police
Action
offense
Past criminal
history
Race
and sex
Attitude
of the
offender
Can
parents
take
disciplinary
action?
Setting
of the
offense
The Juvenile Justice Process
Four Primary Stages of a
Pretrial Juvenile Justice Procedure
Intake - When an official
of the juvenile court engages
in a screening process to
determine what to do with
the youthful offender
Waiver to
Adult Court
In this case the youth
leaves the juvenile justice
system
Pretrial
Diversion -
Probation, treatment
and/or restitution
Detention Youth is held until
the disposition
process begins
Constitutional Rights of Juveniles
Juvenile rights and
adult rights are not
always the same.
New Jersey v. T.L.O.
The United State Supreme
Court held that a school official had the
authority to search the purse of a student,
even though no warrant was issued nor
was there probable cause that a crime
had been committed; there was only the
suspicion that T.L.O. had violated
school rules.
Three Categories of
Diversion Programs
Probation
Treatment
and
Aid
Restitution
Factors Considered in the Decision
to Detain a Juvenile
1. Does the child pose a threat to the
the community?
2. Will the child return for adjudication?
3. Will detention protect the child?
Adjudicatory v Disposition
Hearings
• An adjudicatory
hearing is essentially a
trial where a juvenile is
judged to be a
delinquent
• A disposition hearing is
similar to the sentencing
phase in an adult trial. At
this point the “needs” of
the child are reviewed.
Residential Treatment Programs
Foster Care
Group Homes
and
Family Group
Homes
Wilderness camps, farms
and ranches
Decriminalization of Status
Offenses
Removing
status offenses
as grounds for
legal intervention.
Re-classifying
some behavior
into criminal
offenses.
Diversion Programs Attempted to
Correct Problems in Juvenile Justice
•
•
•
•
•
Denial of due process to juveniles.
Reduce backlogs in juvenile courts.
Failure of the system to reduce recidivism.
Labeling and stigmatization of youth.
The community’s failure to assume responsibility
for juveniles.
Risk Factors for Juvenile
Delinquency
Aging Out
The older a person is, the less likely
he or she will exhibit criminal behavior.
What implications does this have for
juvenile corrections?
Social
Relationships
Excitement
Reasons
for
joining a
gang
Sense of
Identity
Reasons for Joining a
Gang
Protection
Comparison of Gang and At-Risk Youth
Criminal Behavior
Firearm and Non-firearm Related
Homicides by Youths – 1980 -1997
High School Students Who
Carried Weapons, 1991-1999
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1991
|
1993
Carried weapon
1997
1995
1999
Carried Weapon at School
Carried Gun