History Of The Juvenile Court System

The legal concept of juvenile status is relatively new. The juvenile court system was established in the United States a little more than a century ago. The first court appearing was in Cook County, Illinois in 1899. Prior to that time, children and youth were seen as small adults and were tried and punished as adults. Until the late 19th century, the criminal courts tried youth and adults. The sixteenth century educational reform movement in England that had perceived youth to be different from adults, was less than fully developed morally and had cognitive capacities. This helped fuel the movement for juvenile justice reform in America. During the progressive era that occurred between 1880 and 1920, social conditions in the United States
There were cottages and foster homes that were often placed on farms. Family-type organization was prevalent, and hard physical labor was stressed. New institutions suffered from the same types of problems that the houses of refuge did. Separate juvenile institutions for girls appeared in the mid-1880s, and were focused on the teaching of domestic and childrearing skills. The first juvenile courts were operated under the philosophy of parens patriae ,in Prince v. Massachusetts (1944). Parens patriae meant the state could act "as a parent," and give juvenile courts the power to intervene whenever court officials felt intervention was in the best interests of a child. If any offense committed was secondary to the offender. While parents patriae was designed to handle youth committing crime, the discretion of the philosophy became way broader and was constantly debated in court. A number of cases ensued, which in turn, helped the juvenile justice system
This a process called “direct file.” An additional option is to file a fitness petition in juvenile court, which means that a hearing is held to determine whether the minor is unfit for rehabilitation in the juvenile system. For a fitness hearing, Probation completes a report that analyzes a number of criteria to assist the court in determining whether or not the juvenile is fit for juvenile court. Under the California law, a juvenile involved has to be at least fourteen years old for either of these options.
When a case is sent over to the District Attorney’s Office to be heard in juvenile court, the process is different than what you would find in the adult court system. In juvenile justice system, a minor can be accused of a crime but is not criminally liable. The intention is that the mistakes made as a minor, even if serious, do not stick with the youth throughout their lives. This gives them a chance to get back on track before they enter adulthood. This is one of the main reasons why juvenile court proceedings are not open to the