Chapter 7
Juvenile Justice: The System, Process, and Law
by Rolando V. del Carmen and Chad R. Trulson
Prepared by Chad R. Trulson: University of
North Texas
The National Court System and The
Juvenile Courts
THE COURT SYSTEM AND ITS
PROCESS

The Federal Court System

U.S. Supreme Court (Washington, D.C.) referred to as
the Court (capitalized C)
Justices appointed by President for life, cases heard en
banc, rule of four
 Hears roughly 85 cases per year


U.S. Courts of Appeals
13 judicial circuits, each covering three or more states
 Judges appointed by President for life, cases heard en banc
or in division
 Usually the final decision-maker of federal cases


U.S. District Courts
States may have one or multiple districts
 Judges appointed by President for life


U.S. Magistrate Courts

To relieve workload of U.S. District Courts
THE COURT SYSTEM AND ITS
PROCESS
 The

High Court: Each state has a high court, Texas
and Oklahoma have two (one civil, one
criminal)




State Court System
Usually, but not always named the Supreme Court
Intermediate Appellate Courts: Most states
have intermediate appellate courts
General Jurisdiction Trial Courts: Below
appellate courts, are trial courts
In states without intermediate appellate
courts, appealed cases from trial courts go
directly to state’s highest court
THE COURT SYSTEM AND ITS
PROCESS
 The



Appeal Process
Appeals can be made to the next court in a
judicial structure
Appeals are primarily based on denial of
defendant’s rights at trial
Appeals may be:
Affirmed
 Reversed
 Reversed and remand


A reversal on appeal means that the person
can be tried again, without violating double
jeopardy
THE COURT SYSTEM AND ITS
PROCESS

The Geographical Boundaries of Court Decisions






Most cases in juvenile justice are not decided by the U.S.
Supreme Court
As such, most court decisions are limited to territorial
boundaries
The whole country is under the jurisdiction of the U.S.
Supreme Court—its rulings provide the law for the
nation
U.S. Courts of Appeals decisions apply to a particular
circuit only. The 5th Circuit court’s decisions apply only
to Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi
U.S. District Court decisions apply only to a specific
district within the state
State cases apply only to a particular state, and will be
respected by federal courts unless the decision “offends”
the Constitution
THE COURT SYSTEM AND ITS
PROCESS
 The
Geographical Boundaries of Court
Decisions (cont…)
Geographical boundaries means that
conflicting rulings on juvenile justice can occur
 These conflicts may only be resolved with U.S.
Supreme Court action
 The absence of Court action means that there
may be different procedures and rules for
juvenile justice throughout the nation
 Since most juvenile cases do not reach the U.S.
Supreme Court, one must look to the lower
courts for rules on juvenile justice

THE COURT SYSTEM AND ITS
PROCESS
 Judicial




Precedent (Stare Decisis)
The principle that when a court has laid down
a principle of law pertaining to certain facts
and circumstances, it will follow the same
principle in future cases, with similar facts
and circumstances
Abiding by decided cases sets judicial
precedent
U.S. Supreme Court decisions are precedent
for any court in the U.S. It is the most binding
kind of precedent
When lower courts do not follow higher court
precedent, they may be reversed on appeal
THE COURT SYSTEM AND ITS
PROCESS
 Federal


Federal and state jurisdictions are considered
sovereign entities
This means that the federal government and a
state government could both try a person for
the same crime without violating double
jeopardy


versus State Jurisdiction
This applies to two or more states as well, all are
considered separate sovereigns
This usually does not happen, unless the
person was not sufficiently punished in the
first prosecution – usually in state court
THE COURT SYSTEM AND ITS
PROCESS

Juveniles in Federal Court
 Very rare
 There is no federal juvenile court
 A juvenile federal hearing would take
place in front of a U.S. District judge or
magistrate
 No federal juvenile institutions
 Federal law violations usually mean a
violation of an identical state law
 And will usually be tried first at state level
 Federal law limits juvenile prosecutions in
federal court
THE COURT SYSTEM AND ITS
PROCESS

Juveniles in Federal Court
 Juveniles are tried in federal court only when
there is a “substantial federal interest”:
 State does not or refuses to assume
jurisdiction
 State with jurisdiction does not have
adequate programs or services for juvenile
offenders
 Offense is a violent felony, a drug trafficking
or importation offense, or a firearms offense
 If a juvenile is tried in federal court, they may
be waived to adult federal court
THE ORIGIN AND FORMATION OF
THE FIRST JUVENILE COURT

What Led Up to Juvenile Courts?
 The culmination of several events in U.S.
society
 Development of institutions for youth
 Houses of refuge and the adoptions of parens
patriae in America
 Ex parte Crouse (1838) vs. O’Connell v.
Turner (1870)
 Idea of adolescence and that children do not
go from juveniles to adults overnight
 Restrictions on child labor
 Compulsory school attendance
THE ORIGIN AND FORMATION OF
THE FIRST JUVENILE COURT
 The

1899 Illinois Legislature





First Juvenile Court
Illinois Juvenile Court Act (actual name was An Act
to Regulate the Treatment and Control of Dependent,
Neglected, and Delinquent Children)
Child-savers: Philanthropic or not?
Procedural protections were an impediment to
rehabilitation
“In the best interests of the child” as an
avenue for abuse
By 1950, every state had a juvenile court –
took over 50 years from its beginning in 1899
THE JUVENILE COURT STRUCTURE

Organization of Juvenile Courts
 Juvenile courts are called by many names
 Probate, domestic relations, or family court
 Where juvenile courts are found?
 General jurisdiction trial courts
 Special jurisdiction trial courts
 Limited jurisdiction trial courts
THE JUVENILE COURT STRUCTURE
 Do
Juvenile Courts Have Jurisdiction
Over All Matters Involving Juveniles?




No
This is because there may be several courts
that deal with juveniles in a particular
jurisdiction
One court may deal with serious delinquency,
another court that deals with juveniles may
handle dependency cases
This becomes an issue with youth and their
families who have multiple problems and need
multiple courts to solve their problems
THE JUVENILE COURT STRUCTURE
 Should
There be a Unified or
Coordinated Juvenile Court?

Unified Court


Coordinated Court


All juvenile related issues dealt with in one court by one
judge
Multiple courts and agencies dealing with a juvenile and
his or her family could coordinate their work, for example,
different judges could get together to prevent conflicting
rulings
Such moves would be difficult, especially unified,
but some states have these types of structures
THE JUVENILE COURT STRUCTURE

Administration of Juvenile Courts
 Court workload
 Volume or number of cases
 Case processing
 Time to hear and resolve a case once it
reaches the court
 Case disposition
 Time it takes for the case to get to court in
the first place
THE JUVENILE COURT STRUCTURE
 Administration

of Juvenile Courts
Court workload
Roughly 2 million cases in front of juvenile courts
each year (70-80% delinquency/status offense cases)
 Remainder dependency and neglect


Case processing
Judges are hurried in some jurisdictions
 Typical cases may last from 2-6 hours, depending on
the type of case


Case disposition
A large number of juvenile cases take more than 90
days to reach the juvenile court
 Juveniles do not have much redress unless state law
provides a remedy for slow disposition times

THE JUVENILE COURT STRUCTURE

Specialized Juvenile Courts
 Teen courts (youth or peer courts)
 Dispositional in nature
 Diversionary in nature
 Deal with minor offenders, such as truancy
and theft
 Dispositions include community service, jury
duty in teen court, and counseling
 Youth have various stages of participation,
and may even be judges, bailiffs, and
attorneys
THE JUVENILE COURT STRUCTURE

Specialized Juvenile Courts
 Drug Courts
 Can be a diversion or adjudication program
 Are both adjudicatory and dispositional in
nature
 More like “regular” juvenile courts, but
attempt to deal with both delinquency and
substance abuse issues
 Youth do not play roles as judges and
attorneys
 Very intense program with heavy judge
involvement
THE JUVENILE COURT STRUCTURE
 Juvenile
Court Personnel
Juvenile Court Judge
 Juvenile Court Administrator
 Juvenile Court Master or Referee
 Juvenile Prosecutor
 Juvenile Defense Attorney
 Youth Advocates (CASA or Guardian ad litem)
 Probation Officers

 Bottom
line: the responsibilities of these
court personnel are diverse.
IS THERE A NEED FOR A SEPARATE
JUVENILE COURT?
 Abolish
the Juvenile Court
Juveniles are more responsible today for their
actions
 Juveniles are not treated equally in the
juvenile justice system
 The adult court can handle serious and violent
juveniles more effectively
 The adult system could adapt to juveniles;
there is no need for a duplicative system
 That juveniles receive the same sentences as
adult, without equal procedural protections

 The
case of the “youth discount”
IS THERE A NEED FOR A SEPARATE
JUVENILE COURT?

Keep the Juvenile Court






It provides numerous helpful services that are foreign to the
adult system
Rehabilitation has not been lost in juvenile justice
Adopting the adult system would preclude individualization
in sentencing, a hallmark of juvenile justice
The juvenile system does more than just sentence offenders
and provides numerous helpful intervention before, during,
and after adjudication and sentencing
Serious and violent offenders can be waived to adult court,
they are few and far between anyway
The juvenile justice system is the most successful component
of the entire justice system because most offenders do not
come back—it makes no sense to throw it away for a few
serious offenders who will not change