Overview of
Juvenile Justice
CRIM 309
Overview of the
Juvenile Justice System

The JJS is a relatively new system—the first
juvenile court was established in 1899
 The JJS was created to address criminal and
problem behaviors among children between
the ages of (approx.) 10 to 18
– Criminal offenses (aka delinquency)
– Status offenses
– Abuse/neglect cases
Basis of the JJS
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Different levels of culpability (I.e., responsibility) of
adolescents compared to adults served as the basis
of the JJS
“Childhood” was created in the early 19th century and
stages of childhood, specifically adolescence was
defined shortly afterward
Developmentally distinguished adolescents from
adults emotionally, psychologically, and physically
Supported the notion that (1) adolescents were less
culpable than adults, and (2) adolescents were more
amenable to change than adults
Are Adolescents Different
from Adults?
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Increasingly, research demonstrates that adolescents are not
little adults
Adolescence is a period of intense physical, emotional, and
cognitive development
– Forced to make choices under the worst conditions
– Exposed to highly risky situations
– Often overestimate their understanding of a situation while
underestimating the consequences of their actions
Further complicated when youths live in disadvantaged, high
risk environments
Perhaps most important for this discussion is the fact that
adolescents process ‘emotionally charged’ information from a
more reactive, gut-level place than adults
JJS v. CJS

The JJS was purposely developed as a
different system from the adult criminal justice
system (CJS)
 The JJS recognized the need for different
responses and emphasized rehabilitation
over punishment
 JJS differs significantly from the the CJS:
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Informal proceedings
Confidential
Less adversarial
Different responses, with an emphasis on
treatment
Juvenile v. Adult Justice Systems
Juvenile System
Adult System
Basis
Civil (no due process)
Criminal (due process)
Goal(s)
Rehabilitation
Punishment
Style
Non-Adversarial
Adversarial
Terminology
Medical Model
Legal/Constitutional
Role of Family
Very Significant
Little to No Significance
Functioning
Private, confidential
Open
Process
Adjudication/Delinquent
Trial/Guilty or Innocent
Sentencing
Indeterminate-Broad
Determinate-Focused
History of the
Juvenile Court
Prior to Juvenile Court
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Prior to 19th century, children were either viewed as:
– Not culpable for crime (ages <7)
– As responsible and subject to the same penalties
as adults
19th century—Introduction of “childhood” and
recognition of developmental differences between
children and adults
Efforts were made by reformers to remove juveniles
from criminal court and treat them differently from
adults using legal precedent of parens patriae
Reformers and the Juvenile Court
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19th Century time of drastic change as a result of
industrialization and high rates of immigration
Wealthy and middle class develops and turns its
attention to social ills of the nation
– Child-Savers—MC/W women who took on a
variety of social issues
– Progressive Reformers—growing intelligentsia
that wanted to reduce social problems with the
creation of professional organizations
Reforming the System
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Reformers focused on evils of urbanization and poor
upbringing—family was at the center of their criticism
and a target for their efforts
– Benevolent Reform turns into bias
– Class, Race, & Gender Bias
Utilize the legal precedent of parens patriae to justify
work in many areas related to children
– Parens Patriae=provides state the right to
intervene in the best interest of a person
– This precedent is critical to all reforms, including
juvenile justice, compulsory education, and child
labor
Origins of Juvenile Court
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House of Refuge 1825
Concerns regarding this development led to court
cases
– Ex Parte Crouse, 1835—upheld parens patriae
– People v. Turner, 1860—struck parens patriae down
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Response: Cottage House Systems and
reformatories-mid 1800s
 “Placing Out”—sending juveniles west
 Each of these institutions were an attempt to:
– Separate juveniles from adults
– Provide “treatment” to prevent youths from adopting a life of
crime
Purpose of the New Response
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Differential treatment of juveniles (from adults) was
intended to save juveniles from themselves—salvage
their souls
Treatment” in these institutions translated to
vocational skills training and religious training
– Based on stereotypes and role expectations of the
time
– Juveniles in these institutions were largely poor,
immigrant, and female
– Black youths were often processed by and placed
in adult system. When allowed into the juvenile
system, these youths were segregated from
Whites and given custodial types of tasks
Creation of the Juvenile Court
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Concern over legal challenges led reformers
to seek permanent placement of juvenile
court in law,culminating in the creation of the
first juvenile court---1899 in Cook County,
Illinois
 Created legal categories and jurisdiction for
juvenile delinquency, status offending, and
abuse/neglect
 System was separate from adult court in
theory and practice
 By 1925, all states except Maine and
Wyoming had functioning juvenile courts
Evolution of Juvenile Justice
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1905 Commonwealth v. Fisher:
– Brought legal question once again to
parens patriae
– Court upheld legal doctrine and creation of
separate legal jurisdiction for juvenile
delinquents, status offenders, and
abused/neglected youth
– Legitimacy not questioned again until the
1960s
Juvenile Justice in
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th
20
Century
60s: Legal/court reform
– Kent v. United States, 1966
• Hearings required for transfer to adult court
– In Re Gault, 1967
• Representation for all offenders who face
institutionalization
– In Re Winship, 1970
• Standard of proof, “beyond a reasonable doubt,” required
– Breed v. Jones, 1975
• Protection against double jeopardy
– McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, 1971
• Rejected access to jury trial
th
20
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Century Continued
70s: Federal reform
– Focus on prevention and concern over status
offenders
– Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act
• Federal Act that
– Prohibited placement of status offenders in secure facilities
– Required sight and separation of juveniles and adults in
detention and correctional facilities
– Removal of juveniles from adult jails and lockups
• Voluntary compliance but connected to funding
• Reauthorization by Congress in 1988 required states to
examine over representation of minorities in secure
confinment
th
20
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80s: Crime Control Policies
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Century Continued
Increase in facility use
Increase waivers
Increase in statutory limitations
Death penalty
New ways of sentencing
90s: Distinguishing Offenders
2000: Punitive mixed with integrating
sanctions and rehabilitation & restorative
justice
Juvenile Justice In Context
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Creates a contradiction between our social
policies related to children and adolescents
and our treatment of children and
adolescents who break the law:
– Assumption that the nature of adolescence is to
face ambiguous decisions and learn appropriate
behaviors/choice-making
– Social policies reflect the lack of maturity and skills
to make certain decisions
– Criminal justice policies reject many of these
notions and put juvenile offenders on same level
as adult offenders
– Complicated further by the fact that adolescence
is the highest period of criminal activity
Structure of the Juvenile
Justice System
Contemporary Juvenile Court
Structure
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Juvenile justice is state-based; there is no federal
juvenile justice system
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention provides guidance on policy and
resources for program development, but it has no
authority over juvenile justice systems operating in
any state
Juvenile courts may be located organizationally as
general jurisdiction courts, special jurisdiction courts,
or limited jurisdiction courts
Extent to which juvenile courts have jurisdiction in all
matters involving juveniles varies by state
The Juvenile Justice System
1st Step in the JJ Process:
Arrest/Referral
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Juveniles can enter the jjs through:
– Parent referrals
– School referrals
– Social service referrals
– Police referrals
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Police are responsible for the majority of
referrals to the juvenile justice system
Policing and Juveniles
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Juveniles are responsible for a lot of police
contacts
 Nature of Police-Juvenile Encounters
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Often difficult
Developmental differences and lack of training
Hostile behavior
Officer response can significantly impact result
Role conflict—what is their role
Police Organization of Juvenile
Work
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Depends on the size of the police
department, the community, amount &
quality of resources available, and
policing philosophy of department
– Special units-officers specially trained
– Special units are more likely to exist in
large, urban areas. Smaller areas are less
likely to have specialized juvenile officers
Police and the Law
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Police have more latitude in handling
juveniles:
– Charging decisions
– Ability to detain
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If juvenile is charged as an adult, he/she is
entitled to full due process
 If juvenile is taken into custody as a juvenile,
police act “in the role of parents” and have
more control over what happens to the youth
Police Discretion
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Discretion=Use of personal decision-making
and choice in carrying out operations in the
justice system (I.e., deciding whether to
arrest)
 Discretion applies to all processing stages of
the juvenile and adult justice systems
 Particularly large amount of discretion used in
the case of juveniles
 Informality and “individualized” treatment
lends itself to discretion
Impact of Discretion
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Discretion can keep offenders out of the
system--have significant impact of who enters
the system and who does not
 Discretion can increase chance of being
placed in the system
 Discretion can deteriorate into discrimination
and other abuses
 Personal, environmental, departmental, and
situational factors impact the extent to which
discretion plays a role in processing juveniles
into the juvenile justice system
2nd Stage of the JJ Process:
Detention
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Police decide whether to detain an offender or
release him/her to parents
 Intake officer determines whether the placement is
necessary (using a risk tool)
 Offenders can be detained for their own safety or the
safety of the community—no bond. Must be released
by prosecutor or order of the judge
 Many negative consequences to detention—efforts
growing to build alternatives
 Types: Shelter, Staff-Secure, & Secure
 Detention can be used at any time in the process
3rd Stage of the JJ Process:
Charging
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In some states, Prosecutor decides how to charge the case—
decision is based on state statute around juvenile court
jurisdiction and waivers to adult court
– Also has the option to not charge or offer diversion to an
offender
– The diversion option allows the offender to avoid processing
if they complete the diversion program successfully
In other states, Juvenile Court Intake makes the decision to
informally handle or formally handle
– Decision is then sent to the Prosecutor
– Diversion is also possible at this point
Transferring Cases to the Adult
Court
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Case may be waived to adult court by a judge prior to
adjudication
– Judicial waiver
– Hearing to determine whether case warrants transfer to the
adult court
In some states, case may also be charged directly in adult court
by a prosecutor
– Prosecutorial waiver
– No hearing; defense can file a reverse waiver to transfer the
case to juvenile court
In most states, legislatures have mandated that certain cases be
automatically processed in adult court—statutory exclusion
4th Stage of JJ Process:
Adjudication
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Formal Processing
 Arraignment Hearing
– Charges read in court
– Need for Representation Assessed
– If represented, type of responsibility is entered
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If responsiblecase goes to disposition
 If not responsiblecase goes to adjudication
hearing (I.e., trial)
– If responsiblecase goes to disposition
– If not responsiblecase is dismissed
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Plea bargaining occurs during these stages
5th Stage of JJ Process:
Assessment
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Pre-disposition assessments
– Thorough evaluations of juvenile’s risk and
need levels
– Judge orders at adjudication hearing
– Report completed and returned to judge
prior to the disposition
– Report contains recommendations to the
judge on what type of disposition the
offender should receive
Content of Pre-Disposition
Assessment
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This stage may include any or all of the following:
1.
2.
3.
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Individual factors: previous jj experience, peers, living
situation, etc.
Family factors: occupations, living situation, history of
abuse/neglect, relationships, etc.
School factors: attendance, performance, behavior
Also provides the opportunity for:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Substance abuse screening
Mental health screening
Risk Assessment
Referral for further assessment (SA, MH, medical, family,
etc.)
6th Stage in JJ Process:
Disposition
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Disposition Hearing (Sentence)
– Judge reviews pre-disposition materials (if
available) and decides on the following options:
– Probation: Supervision in the community
• Different levels
• May include placement in camp or detention facility
– State Custody: Out-of-Home Placement
• Different types of placements
• Parole and Aftercare
– Blended Sentencing: Combination of juvenile and
adult sentencing
Probation
Traditional Supervision (Low, Medium,
and High)
 Intensive Supervision (High Only)
 Drug Courts
 Camps
 Probation has conditions that can
include curfews, treatment, family
counseling, etc.
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State Custody
Foster/Group Homes
 Correctional Facility
 Treatment Facility Placements
 Parole
 Aftercare Programming
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Caveats to JJ Process
Offender placed on probation who
violates the conditions of that order, can
return to court and be moved into state
custody
 Offender place in state custody who
makes parole and violates the
conditions of parole, can return to court
and to an institution
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