This archive file includes CJA 374 Week 3 Learning Team Assignment Juvenile and Adult Courts A Comparative Analysis…
The United States government is based on a checks and balances type system. The three main parts of this system are the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. This judicial system’s job is to uphold the law of the land. Law can be defined as a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments for those who do not follow the established rules of conduct (Wikipedia.org, 2005). This is a very wide and all encompassing definition of the law and the governing judicial system. Just like the United States government the judicial system is broken up into different checks, balances, and systems. Two of these main systems are the juvenile justices system and the adult justice system. The obvious difference between these two courts is that the juvenile system is designed to handle youth offenders and the adult system is designed to handle adult offenders. Both of these two systems despite their difference have the same end goal; to administer justice. In the pages to follow we will discuss the big picture of the juvenile justice system, go over a point by point comparison between the juvenile system and the adult system, touch on both the benefits and disadvantages to being tried as a minor in the juvenile court from the perspective of a minor, and review the societal implication of abolishing the juvenile court system.…
Juveniles in the criminal justice system are a special population. Throughout history juveniles have been looked at as needing to be protected from the harsh realities that face adults daily. The juvenile justice system has primarily operated in a parens patriae capacity and protected the rights of those that were legally incapable of protecting themselves such as minor children and the mentally ill. From 1987-1993 the juvenile homicide rate doubled causing critics and conservatives to questions the approach of the juvenile justice community calling it ‘soft on crime’ Steiner &…
Many people around the nation have different views on the subject of juvenile justice. Some believe that despite the children's age, they should still be tried as an adult if a serious crime is committed. On the other hand, some believe children should not be tried as adult even if they commit a rather serious crime. I firmly that these children should not be sentenced to life in prison despite the serious crime that they have committed and should have another shot at life when their brain is fully developed.…
The Juvenile Justice System is in place to help protect children because of their age. What appears to be common sense to one person may not be common sense for someone else. When dealing with Juvenile each case should be looked at individually instead of the one pot approach. For example if you have two teenagers the same age (15) that commit the some crime one may be a good candidate for implementing a diversion plan, liberal approach Ex. someone with a learning disorder commit a crime but didn’t know any better. While with the other child you may need to take the more conservative approach. Ex. commit a crime because he or she was bored.…
The Legislature has given the prosecutor discretion on filing with a defined list of cases in adult and juvenile courts. The prosecutor also gets to choose which court will handle the matter. U.s department of justice. ().…
The court system for juveniles in the United States was first formed in 1899, in Cook County, Illinois, which then was quickly spread across the country and most other state courts decided to establish one as well, that then in turn created the juvenile justice system. With the purpose of rehabilitating each underage offender in order for them to become a productive part of society and also to protect them by having them separated from any type of exposure to adult offenders and mentally ill adult offenders that were incarcerated as well.…
Robert Schwartz is the co-founder of the Juvenile Law Center in 1975 and has been the executive director there since 1982. This is a nonprofit public interest law firm that ensures the youths in foster care and justice systems are treated fairly and have the same opportunities in life in their adult years. Studies also show that the juvenile justice system protects the public much better than the criminal justice system. He argues that “kids are incompetent to be tried as adults, trying them as juveniles it not excusing the crime.” (Schwartz 2010). He thinks that at a young age a child could not process information and plan horrific crimes like an adult can. Youths struggle with impulsiveness, immaturity, undeveloped decision making, susceptibility to negative peer pressure and lack of future orientation. They do not have the common sense, problem…
In 1921 the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court came into existence through the Louisiana Constitution. When the Juvenile Court was first established it started with one Judge but with an increase in juvenile crimes, the city chose to increase the number of judges in the courts. As of today there are a total of five judges that handle juvenile cases. Four of the judges primarily deal with adjudication. Adjudication is defined by the act of the court making an order or judgment. The fifth judge deals with family cases as it relates to child abuse and adoption and cases related to Department of Children Family Services (DCFS).…
Unfortunately, since 1992 the focus has been to try more juveniles in adult court versus rehabilitating the juveniles in question through juvenile courts. Young and Gainsborough (2000) wrote a paper, in which they said,…
1. Adjudicatory Hearing – The Criminal Justice Today textbook defines the term adjudicatory hearing as “the fact-finding process by which the juvenile court determines whether there is sufficient evidence to sustain the allegations in a petition” (Schmalleger 510). These types of trials are designated for juveniles, which are similar in nature to adult trials, with notable exceptions. Similarities derive from the fact that the due process rights of children and adults are essentially the same. Essentially, it is a trial process in which a court determines whether or not the allegations contained in a petition are supported by evidence. It is also known as the legal process for resolving some legal dispute and a hearing may be held by a court…
“The only effective way to reduce and prevent juvenile crime is to balance tough enforcement measures with targeted, effective and intervention initiatives.” Juveniles are children and children don’t know any better and obviously make mistakes. They don’t expect to be caught after committing a serious crime. Juveniles brains are not fully developed until they are 25, but young people recognize them as adults at the age of 18. About 25,000 children a year have their cases sent to adult courts instead of being tried in juvenile courts, whose convicted defendants are usually set free by the time they turn 21. Trying juveniles as adults is not beneficial for them. But it also is a crime. And crimes are crimes whether…
“A Broken Juvenile Justice System.” Baltimore Sun. N.p., 06 Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2013 http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-08-06/news/bs-ed-juvenile-jail-editorial-20120806_1_million-juvenile-jail-adult-facility-youthful-offenders…
Juveniles have been incarcerated in secure facilities since 1974. Juveniles are committing more heinous crimes and citizens have advocated for tougher penalties on crime. They want justice for the violence perpetrated on their families, businesses and communities. The Juvenile Justice system is charged with simultaneously protecting the public as well as reforming those juveniles who are convicted and sentenced to secure facilities. Barry C. Feld (1995) believes that there is a “desire to "get tough," fueled in part by frustration with the intractability of crime, that provides political impetus to transfer some young offenders to criminal courts for prosecution as adults and to strengthen the sanctioning powers of juvenile courts”(p.966).…
In 2010, juveniles committed 8% of homicides. (PBS 2014) When it comes to trying juveniles as adults, many people think that this is too harsh of a punishment for young criminals, but others think that they should get what they deserve. There is a famous saying “do the crime, do the time”. Our society tends to think that juveniles do not have the mental, and physical stabilities that adults do. Over the years, our society has changed their views and started treating children/juveniles as young adults. Some people think that juveniles should be given a second chance since they are our children of the future, but others disagree and believe that juveniles know what they are doing and that they should be tried as adults. Each juvenile case can be different and should be treated accordingly looking at the severity of the crime. Depending on the crime and the severity of the crime can depict what kind of punishment a juvenile can face.…