From the Cradle to the Courthouse In “Should Juvenile Offenders be tried as Adults,” Laurence Steinberg argues that juveniles think, act, and comprehend mentally on different level than adults. In “Adult Crime, Adult Time,” Linda Collier argues that juveniles are treated well by the American judicial system despite the very violent crimes that some of them commit. Some states believe that criminal acts committed by society’s youth should not be the only factor considered when deciding the punishment for the crime. Recent policy changes have shifted the view of many people. The changes in policies are the laws that govern the treatment of juveniles.
The second point that I am going to talk about is being tried as a juvenile. Being tried as a juvenile is sometimes more effective than if a juvenile is being tried as an adult. According to Jeffrey Fagan, the juvenile court system has the ability to transfer a juvenile delinquent to criminal court, which is also known as adult court. Being tried as a juvenile can result in the delinquent being suspended from school and/or social life, or being sent away in hopes to change the juvenile’s behavior. Fagan quoted, “Treating juveniles as adults is not effective as a means of crime control.” Also, the juvenile court presumes that the reason for some of the crimes committed is because the offenders are immature.
A judge has the right to sentence a juvenile to a correction center, possibly house arrest, or counseling. Adults also have the right to have bail set where juveniles do not. Another difference in juvenile court versus an adult court is, juveniles are considered delinquent rather than criminal. This was to guide the judges to act as a guide for the juveniles towards the development of the “child” for the best interest of him or her. The courts put in place to reform the child rather than to serve sentence as justice.
Jane Addams believed that people including children, were pushed into crime by forces beyond their control and not by free will. She believed that once the causes of crime were discovered, experts could then assist in curing the juvenile offender of his/her problem. Thus it came to pass, that The Cook County Juvenile Court was founded in 1899. They were called “The Dauntless women of Hull House” (Anderson, 1998, p.72), Jane Addams, et al, who established the first juvenile court. They strived to make it a safe haven, a space to protect, to rehabilitate and to heal children, a site of nurturance and guidance, understanding and compassion, (Anderson, 1998), all in the best interest of the “whole child.” The idea spread rapidly.
Running head: PUNISHMENT AND SENTENCING Punishment and Sentencing Michael Serrano, Eric Jirau, Sandra Brown, and Vincent Burford CJA/224 January 17, 2012 April Reddish Punishment and Sentencing There are various legal factors that are associated with juvenile sentencing in the criminal justice system. There is a “growing evidence indicates that many youth are transferred to the adult system for less serious, nonviolent offenses even when they have not been exposed to the full range of graduated sanctions available in the juvenile justice system” (Johnson, 2001). This study further shows that juveniles, According to Wolff-Barnes and Franz (1989) “Personal and aggravated personal offenders received more severe
Explian why young offenders are treated differently in teh criminal justice system: less maturity - less ability to see the difference between right and wrong - more easily influenced by other people - chance to change how a youth views these bad things, while its too late for adults - gives a chance to preserve the inoccence in that child and gives them anoter chance to become a good person - the circumstances in their lives may have a LARGE affect on the bad choices they have made. What does this mean for
Juvenile Delinquency and Family Structure Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements CJ 387 Juvenile Delinquency D’Meki L. Murry Mississippi Valley State University Mrs. R. Cobbs April 19, 2012 Introduction In today’s society more and more juveniles committing delinquent acts, we have to stop and ask ourselves why this continues to be a problem in our communities. This paper will provide an overview on juvenile delinquency and the role family structure has in this. Juveniles are more likely to become delinquent when there is little or a weak structure being provided by their family. Even thought there are many factors that entail the cause of juvenile delinquency, this paper will focus on three that encompass all the different factors. The main three I will focus on are family functioning, economic status and a two-parent versus a single-parent household.
| Juvenile Crime Paper | CJS200 Tony Sanders | | | 12/2/2012 | | Juvenile Court is a court that has special jurisdiction over delinquent and dependent children usually up to the age of eighteen (www.merriam-webster.com). Juvenile courts handle civil matters, usually concerning the care of a child or one whose parents cannot provide for them and criminal matters arising from antisocial behavior by the child. The differences between an adult court and juvenile court are that juveniles do not get judged in front of a jury like in criminal courts. Furthermore Juveniles cannot get bail as they can in (www.lawcollective.org). With my own experience in the juvenile court system I got sent to a shelter care in Salisbury
Juvenile delinquency refers to antisocial or illegal behavior by children or adolescents. The Supreme Court of the United States has made some highly significant legal decisions, thereby greatly impacting the right of both children and adults charged with major or minor crimes. This paper looks at how legal rights and rules. California as in all states exist an entirely separate court system for persons under the age of 18, who are known as juveniles or minors. It looks at how the primary reason to establish these juvenile courts is to provide thorough assistance to the children who are charged with some minor or major offense, but who can be successfully reformed through rigorous counseling, adequate education, and guidance, rather than punishing
Mr. Governor of the State of Confusion This is a memo on if juvenile sex-offenders Should be treated as adults in the criminal justice system? In many states, youth sex offender statutes require youth to be tried and sentenced in the adult criminal justice system. Research shows the ineffectiveness of these approaches and that youth would be more appropriately served in the juvenile justice system. Here are some key facts about youth sex offenders.