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Age Levels In Juvenile Courts Essay

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Age Ranges in Juvenile Courts
How does the wide range of ages in juveniles present unique challenges within the juvenile courts? Due to the variety of ages that appear in juvenile court, many challenges become apparent. Not only is the juvenile delinquent a challenge, the way the legal system handles them, offers their own set of trials.
When asked the question, should all juveniles be treated equally within the juvenile court system or not, the answer is no. A child at the age of five who discovers his/her parents gun, who shoots and kills a neighbor will not have the same understanding or culpability than a child age 15. In each case, depending on the age and crime committed a judge must determine the appropriate course of action.
The courts experience many challenges that include determining whether a child who commits a heinous crime should be sentenced in a manner that reflects their actions or based on their ability for rehabilitation. Children have the capacity to commit terrible acts of violence, and when they do the question posed is if they should be punished based on their actions or based on their ability to rehabilitate. The judges also look to see what’s in the best interest of the child (Chambliss, 2005), especially regarding their age. The age of the juvenile in question places tremendous weight on the judge as they want what is …show more content…

The training offered allows judges to be able to meet the needs of the individual in the best way possible. There is a variety of adolescents that appear in juvenile court, a broad range of ages, demographics, personal development complications. The judge must be able to make well education decisions, by utilizing that they learned in training sand real life experiences, to better the juvenile in the long

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