A History of the Juvenile Justice System

1. A History of the Juvenile Justice System The Nutshell Version, Anyhow

2. Two Central Issues • Why should kids who commit crimes be treated any differently than adults? • At what age should a child be held criminally responsible for their actions? • At what age does a kid cease to become a “kid?” • If kids should be treated differently, how should they be treated?

3. Pre-Middle Ages • Code of Hammurabi (2270 b.c.) • Other Examples • Roman civil and church law • Ancient Jewish and Moslem laws

4. Middle Ages (500-1500ad) • Roman criminal law codified in the “Twelve Tables” • Eventually, under the “Justinian Code” • 0-7 Years = not criminally responsible • 7-12/14 = know right from wrong? • >12/14 = adult • English common law emerges (1000-1100ad) • Early common law = “too young for punishment” • By 1500s, common law adopts scheme similar to Justinian code

5. Middle Ages II • English Common Law • 0 to 7 = not criminally responsible • 7-14 = burden on state to demonstrate that the child: • Formed criminal intent • Understood consequences of their actions • Knew right from wrong • Concept of Parens Patriae develops • Civil law, King as “parent of country”

6. England 1500-1700 • Statute of Artificers (1562) and Poor Laws (1602) • Children of paupers apprenticed • Punishment of criminal children still similar to adults • Corporal/public, banishment, galley slavery • Bridewell Workhouse (London, 1557) • Precursor to prisons, idea = “reform through labor” • Mostly for “idle”/”disorderly”

7. Colonial America • Until the late 1700sEnglish Common Law • Prison uncommon, many children found “innocent” to spare them corporal punishment

8. U.S. 1775-1825 • The Industrial Revolution • The Birth of the Penitentiary • “Gentleman Reformers” Result of these trends: Houses of Refuge • Ex Parte Crouse (1839) And later, “Industrial” and “Reform” schools • People ex rel. O’Connell V. Turner (1870)

9. The “Child Saving Movement” • Child Savers disgruntled with “child prisons” • Deep mistrust of “the city” and immigrants • Advocated rural “Cottage Style” housing • Helped to “place out” city kids to farm families

10. Progressive Era (1900-1930) • The Progressives • Optimists + Faith in Government • General = sanitation, poverty, unsafe labor… • Juveniles = compulsory education, helped shape juvenile justice system

11. The Juvenile Court Movement • First Juvenile Court in Illinois (1899) • Quasi-civil nature of court • Parens Patriae = act in best interest of child using non-criminal procedures • No “special wrong” necessary • Characteristics • Informal, closed proceedings with sealed records • Medical model of “diagnosing” social ills • Age = 15 years and younger • Probation Officers to investigate and rehabilitate

12. J.C. Spreads (1900-1950)

13. Innovation and Stability • Juvenile Courts Spread, but differences emerged • Some states require procedures similar to criminal court, others courts grant judge complete discretion to “follow conscience” • Discretion/Informality becomes key issue • Good? • Bad? • By the 1950s, many juvenile courts are “bureaucratic and burdened”

14. Winds of Change 1960-1975 • Social Context of this Period Crucial • Viet Nam, Kent State, Attica, Watergate… • Increase in crime, divorce, single parents… • Youth flaunting morals of prior generation • Ideological Responses • Conservatives? • Liberals/Progressives?

15. Strange Bedfellows • Conservatives and Liberals largely agree on policy Issues • In both adult and juvenile system, discretion should be limited • Juveniles should be granted due process rights • Differences? • Conservatives  treat juveniles more like adults, punishment works • Liberals  most juveniles should be diverted from the system, short sentences for those that aren’t

16. Constitutional Domestication • Kent vs. United States (1961) • In Re Gault (1967) • In Re Winship (1970) • Breed v. Jones (1975) • Justice Stewarts Dissent Opinion in Gault

17. From Cox et. al (Your Book) • “Legalists” • “Case Workers” (Social Work)

18. OJJDP and DSO • 1967 President Johnson’s “Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice.” • 1974 Congress enacts “Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.” • Creation of OJJDP • Decriminalization, Deinstitutionalization, elimination of court authority over status offenders • Mass. “deinstitutionalization” experiment

19. Getting “Tough” 1980-2000 • Backlash against diversion, labeling theory • Political Rhetoric “get tough on juveniles” • National “war on drugs” • 1984 National Advisory Committee for Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention

20. How have we gotten “tough?” • Legislative Policy • Juvenile Wavier, Statutory Exclusion • Lower upper age limit of jurisdiction • Sentencing (Blended, mandatory minimum) • Confidentiality, records in adult courts • Types of Punishment • Boot Camps, ISP, Electronic Monitoring

21. Where is policy now • Crime in general is not “high profile” issue • OJJDP 1993 Comprehensive Strategy • Barry Feld’s “Criminological triage”

22. Research For Debates and Papers • I Expect evidence from academic sources • Journal articles, academic books • Searching for articles/books • Get references from books or articles • Government reports (OJJDP, NCJRS…) • Search • Criminal Justice Abstracts • Sage journals search (full text) • Journal of Crime and Delinquency (full text)