Juveniles and the Legal System

1. Juveniles and the Legal System Unit 6 The Law Continued

2. I. Definitions • A. Juvenile—In North Carolina, a juvenile is anyone who has not yet reached his/her 16th birthday. • B. Juvenile Delinquent (offender)—someone under the age of 16 who repeatedly violates the law. Can be tried as adult at 14 for serious crimes.

3. II. Possible Causes of Juvenile Delinquency • Greed, abuse, neglect, boredom, poverty, drugs, mental illness, the unknown

4. III. Juvenile Courts • A. Goal of Juvenile Court—rehabilitation. • B. Guiding Principle—do what’s best for the juvenile. • C. Handles two types of cases: • 1. Neglect—court has power to place children in foster homes. • 2. Delinquency—involves cases where children commit crimes. Also involves offenses that aren’t considered illegal for adults (running away, truancy—skipping school, etc.)

5. IV. Dealing with Juvenile Offenders • A. Juvenile Petition (similar to an adult criminal complaint)  Parents Notified  Sent Home or Juvenile Detention 

6. IV. Dealing with Juvenile Offenders • B. Juvenile Court System • 1. Hearings involve the accused, parents, lawyers, social worker, police officers, probation officer, etc. No jury. • 2. Hearings are closed to the public except those involved in the case. • 3. Sentence—judge decides where accused is “delinquent” or “non-delinquent.” • 4. Criminal records are kept from the public and are sealed upon the juvenile’s 18th birthday. • 5. Not photographed or fingerprinted upon arrest

7. IV. Dealing with Juvenile Offenders • C. Supreme Court Rules—based on 1967 Supreme Court decision in the Gault Case • 1. Parents/ guardians of juveniles must be notified upon arrest and must be present during questioning. • 2. Juveniles and their parents must be notified in writing regarding the nature of the charges • 3. Juveniles have the right to an attorney. • 4. Juveniles have the right to call and confront witnesses

8. V. Levels of Punishment for Juvenile Offenders • A. Stern lecture • B. Training school, juvenile detention • C. Become wards of the court (if neglect or home conditions are an issue) • 1. court assumes custody until their 18th birthday; juvenile lives in foster care • D. Community Service • E. Probation—can live at home and go to school as long as they obey the law.

9. VI: Gault Case • Gerald Francis Gault, fifteen years old, was taken into custody for allegedly making an obscene phone call. The police did not leave notice with Gault's parents, who were at work, when the youth was arrested. • The proceedings of the Juvenile Court failed to comply with the Constitution. The Court held that the proceedings for juveniles had to comply with the requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment. • These requirements included adequate notice of charges, notification of both the parents and the child of the juvenile's right to counsel, opportunity for confrontation and cross-examination at the hearings, and adequate safeguards against self-incrimination.

10. VII. Death Penalty • ROPER v. SIMMONS • In March 2005, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty for those who had committed their crimes at under 18 years of age was cruel and unusual punishment and hence barred by the Constitution.

11. North Carolina Revised General Statutes, Chapter 14, Criminal Law • “Arrest and conviction for a crime can have some very long term impacts. The ability to go to college, to get a scholarship, to become an attorney or a doctor, to get into the military, to become a police officer, and in some cases, to get certain kinds of jobs, may be affected and may be denied to an individual with a criminal record.”