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Chapter 13 Juvenile Justice in the Twenty-First Century. Learning Objectives. Describe the nature/purpose of the juvenile justice system. Be familiar with the history/development of juvenile justice. Discuss the child savers and their vision of juvenile justice.
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Learning Objectives • Describe the nature/purpose of the juvenile justice system. • Be familiar with the history/development of juvenile justice. • Discuss the child savers and their vision of juvenile justice. • Describe the efforts of the child savers to create an independent juvenile court. • Describe the changes in juvenile justice from the 1960s to today. • Discuss police processing of juvenile offenders. • Distinguish between the adjudication of juvenile/adult offenders. • Discuss the problems/legal issues with the waiver decision. • Chart the juvenile trial and sentencing process. • Compare efforts to treat kids in the juvenile system with the belief that treatment is ineffective and should be abolished.
The History of Juvenile Justice • Development of poor laws • The Chancery Court
Care of Children in Early America • Youth who committed serious crimes treated as adults • Almshouses, poorhouses, workhouses
The Child-Saving Movement • Programs for indigent youths • New York House of Refuge • Boston House of Reformation • Children’s Aid Society
Establishment of the Juvenile Court • First comprehensive juvenile court Illinois 1899 • Best interest of child • Paternalistic rather than adversarial • Reform schools • Legal change 1960s and 1970s • Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 • Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention
Juvenile Justice Today • Jurisdiction over: • Delinquents • Status offenders • PINS – Persons in Need of Supervision • CHINS – Children in Need of Supervision
Examples of Status Offenders Smoke,drink Disobeyparents Skip school,disobey teachers Juvenilestatusoffender Stubbornandincorrigible Have badcompanions Violatecurfew RunAway Participatein sex orimmoralconduct
Volume of Status Offense Cases by Age 45 Truancy Ungovernability 40 Runaway 35 Liquor 30 25 Percentage of cases 20 15 10 5 0 11 13 14 16 10 12 15 17 Age of ???
Similarities and Differences between Juvenile and Adult Justice Systems
Similarities and Differences between Juvenile and Adult Justice Systems
Comparison of Terms Used in Adult and Juvenile Justice Systems
Police Processing of the Juvenile Offender • Police may arrest for status offenses • Factors significant to police decision making • Type and seriousness of child’s offense • Ability of parents to be of assistance in disciplining child • Child’s past contacts with police • Degree of cooperation • Denial of offense
Legal Rights • Same 4th Amendment rights as adults • Greater 5th Amendment protection
The Juvenile Court Process • U.S. juvenile courts process an estimated 1.6 million delinquency cases each year • Juvenile case load is 4 times as large today as in 1960
Intake • Screen child and family • Opportunity to place child in a community program • More than half of referrals to juvenile courts never go beyond this stage
Police Processing of the Juvenile • The detention process • Juvenile Justice Act of 1974 • 70% of youths are held for non-violent charges • Use of detention has increased significantly in past decade • Disproportionate number of African-Americans detained before trial
Detention • Hearing required in most states • Right to counsel • Procedural due process rights • Criteria to support a decision to detain • Need to protect the child • Decide if child a danger to the public • Determine likelihood juvenile will return to court for adjudication • Reforming detention • Remove status offenders from lockups • Detention of youths in adult jails
Bail • Federal courts have not ruled on constitutional right to bail • Relatively few states use monetary bail • Release of child to parent or guardian viewed as an acceptable substitute
Plea Bargaining • Exists for the same reasons as in adult courts
Waiver of Jurisdiction • Most jurisdictions provide by statute a waiver of offenders to the criminal courts • Factors considered: child’s age and nature of the offense • Some states allow waivers only in felony cases • Kent v. United States (1966) • Breed v. Jones (1975)
The Adjudication • Initial appearance • Fact-finding hearing • In re Gault (1967) • Notice of the charges • Right to counsel • Right to confront and cross-examine witnesses • Privilege against self-incrimination • Right to transcript of trial record
Disposition and Treatment • Sentence based on offense, prior record, and family background • Bifurcated hearing process • Typical juvenile court dispositions • Suspended judgment • Probation • Community treatment program • State agency responsible for juvenile institutional care • Residential placement
Juvenile Sentencing Reform • Push for harsher sentences • Mandatory and determinate incarceration sentences • Effort to remove status offenders from juvenile justice system • Effort to standardize dispositions in juvenile courts
Probation • Most common sentence • Placed under supervision in the community • General conditions of supervision, control and rehabilitative conditions
Deinstitutionalization • Large institutions too costly • Small residential facilities • Public support for community-based programs still exists in some areas
Aftercare • Helps the transition from residential or institutional settings • Parole • Procedural protections in probation and parole revocations
Preventing Delinquency • Designed to intervene before delinquent acts • Past - treatment oriented agencies • Today - combination of juvenile justice and treatment agencies • Fast Track Program • CAR/CASASTART Program
Problems of Juvenile Justice • System at a crossroads • Meaningful treatment? • Restructure? • Minority overrepresentation • Equal justice?