Juvenile Competency to Stand Trial Essay

In the United States of America today when a person has been committed of a crime they are trialed through a system to conclude if they are guilty as well as determine their best fit punishment of due to the crime. From what most people know when an adult is put through this process they have the right to a quick and speedy trial with a jury to determine if they are guilty and they are given their punishment. However, within our system the process of punishment and sentencing is significantly different if the defendant of the crime is under the age of 18, if they are under 18 they are legally considered a child and are not put through the same system and punishment with which adult are. They are but through what we call a juvenile court system.

Juveniles are being treated as adults when it comes to crimes, and are receiving higher sentences than adults. Furthermore, juveniles do not fully understand the consequences of their actions. Juvenile’s brains are not fully developed and experience loss in gray matter. According to the article Startling Find on Teenage Brains by Paul Thompson, he states, “gray matter, which brain researchers believe supports all of our thinking and emotions, is purged at a rate of 1 percent to 2 percent a year during this period” (Thompson). Gray matter makes up of people’s critical thinking and awareness. Juveniles are losing gray matter and are therefore forgetting the consequences of their actions. In addition, juveniles are coddled way too much by their parents and grow up without any discipline. Why is it that juveniles are segregated from adults in society in every aspect except when it comes to crimes? Juveniles do not deserve to be tried as adults when they commit heinous crimes because it is not constitutionally correct and

Approximately two million adolescents a year are arrested and out of that two million, 60,000 of them are incarcerated according to the American Journal of Public Health. The 60,000 incarcerated adolescents each year are being tried as adults in court because of the serious crimes they have committed. The crimes they have committed are anything from armed robbery to murder. Some juveniles might be first time offenders and others might be repeat offenders. Crimes have always been a major issue in the United States and can cause controversy in the criminal justice system. Charging a minor as an adult in criminal court varies from state to state based on each state’s jurisdiction. Some states consider anyone up to the age of 18 still a juvenile and would not be charged as an adult in criminal court, but other states may charge a juvenile as an adult at the age of 16 or 17. Jordan (2014) states, “Although states already had methods for transferring youth to the adult system, as a result of the growing fear of juvenile violence, most states implemented new laws to increase the number of youth entering the adult criminal system’ (Bernard & Kurlychek, 2010; Torbet et al., 1996)” (p. 315). While it sounds beneficial to incarcerate more adolescents in the adult criminal justice system to avoid juveniles from committing crimes in the future, that is not always the case. Incarcerating these juveniles can be life changing in a negative

This system was to differ from adult or criminal court in a number of ways. It was to focus on the child or adolescent as a person in need of assistance, not on the act that brought him or her before the court. Youths are treated differently for many reasons. First of all, a human brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. In early teenage years, the brain can communicate like an adult, form and discuss complicated ideas, use language in increasingly complex ways, and will often perceive several levels of communication. While teens’ brains are developed in many areas, the frontal lobe is the last place to develop. The frontal lobe controls judgement and self-control, and is not fully developed until a person’s mid-20s. This is the reason for encouraged rehabilitation. The teen brain still has time to be influenced into making better decisions. Teens whose cases stay in juvenile court are treated differently than their counterparts who enter the adult justice system, based on the recognition that the adolescent brain is different from the adult brain and that kids might lack the intellectual or moral capacity to understand the consequences of their actions, experts say. For example, while adult cases can drag on for years, juvenile court proceedings tend to move more quickly in

Legislation Option 1: H.R. 1501 was introduced to the House on 04/21/1999 and passed through both the House and the Senate, the main focus of this Bill was “to provide quality prevention programs and accountability programs relating to juvenile delinquency” (H.R. 1501). This bill helps to solve some of the root problems in juvenile justice, as it enables accountability and would provide the juvenile “a genuine opportunity for self-reform” (H.R.1501), and that is in accord with some of the root causes as to why juveniles get into trouble and

The legal standard applied for competency in both juveniles and adults is defined by the U.S Supreme Court in Dusky v. U.S., 402 (Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 1960), and affirmed in Godinez v. Moran (Godinez v. Moran, 113 St. Ct. 2680, 1993). Those standards include; “1). Sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding, 2). A rational as well as factual understanding of proceedings against him/her; and are a requirement applied under due process obligations. The application of these standards in practice require the juvenile to understand and appreciate the charges, potential pleas, and their consequences; understand and appreciate the roles of the participants in the trial process; the ability to understand communications from counsel and to have the ability to meaningfully communicate with counsel to aid in developing a defense; the ability to understand, appreciate, and make decisions about the waiver of important rights (ex. Miranda rights), especially decisions about pleading and plea agreements; and the ability to testify at trial if needed and are applied through out the legal process (Grisso, 2005, p. 7).” The standard to which juveniles are assessed in their abilities to meet these standards is still

Overview: The criminal justice system is complex and in need of several types of reforms, this is especially true in the juvenile justice system. In 2012, there were 1,319,700 arrests of juveniles in the United States (OJJDP) and this includes both violent and non-violent offenses committed by those under the age of 18. Policy reforms can offer alternatives to the incarceration of young offenders, by providing mental health, or addiction rehabs for those that are in need of it rather than locking them up. This not only helps keep the amount of juveniles down but also can be a preventative in recidivism.

Should minors be tried as adults? You’re sitting at home, you turn on the television, and you start watching the news “two14 year-old boys were tried as adults today and sentenced to prison for life without parole”. What goes through your mind? What could these minors have possibly done to get life in prison and what is wrong with our justice system.

(Soulier & Scott, 2010) The main difference between juvenile courts and adult courts was that juvenile courts were civil and adult courts were criminal. And until 1967, youth did not have any constitutional legal rights. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in In re Gault changed that. The Supreme Court decided that even though they were civil cases, juveniles still could potentially have a loss of liberty. So because of that, all juvenile court cases where the offender could be imprisoned have the following rights; The right to have an appellate court review the lower court's decision, The right to confrontation and cross-examination, The privilege against self-incrimination, The right to receive notice of charges, The right to receive a transcript of the proceedings, and The right to obtain legal

The competency to stand trial has become an important issue. According to John Hurley, “competency to stand trial” is a legal concept that is broken down into two parts, that is required for a defendant must have during court. The first part consist of having the ability to retain a rational and factual understanding of the charge or charges placed against the defendant. The second part obligates the defendant to have the ability to collaborate with his or hers counsel in order to establish a defense strategy. Competency to stand trial and an insanity defense are two completely different things. For starters, an insanity defense is an established defense strategy that the defendant have control over and can be raised by the defendant themselve. This is usually raised

The juvenile justice system handles criminal cases for youth under the age of majority, which is 18 in most states. Most cases involving juveniles are tried in juvenile specific courts. There’s some exception, those exceptions along with everyone over legal age tried in standard criminal courts for adults. One of the characteristics setting the juvenile system aside from the adult system, is that the sentencing differences between adult and juvenile cases is significant.

Imagine sitting in a courtroom, hoping the the judge will not give a harsh sentence. Unfortunately, that’s the case for many juveniles, some as young as 13! A juvenile is subject to a more severe sentence with the limited sentencing available. It is estimated that 250,000 youth are prosecuted as adults, each year. This number should change, as juveniles are not adults, both mentally and physically. Juveniles need an environment surrounded with guiding adults, education and the resources to help them. A juvenile is not an adult, and should not be tried as one.

On the other hand, juveniles adjudicated in the juveniles proceedings must be freed at the age of 21, be rehabilitated in a juvenile facility and their juvenile records could be expunged. On top of this, research indicates that juveniles incarcerated and criminally prosecuted in adult facilities have similar or higher rates of recidivism. Other studies have showed that juveniles incarcerated in adult institutions are five times more likely to be assaulted sexually, twice likely to be physically beaten by the members of staff, and 50% likely to beaten with weapons than their juvenile counterparts (Bishop,

Trends in juvenile justice from the punitive laws enacted by the 1990’s are now being changed. The article stated it was a bipartisan effort to change policies to align sound fiscal responsibility, community safety and better outcomes for youth(Brown, 2015). Some of the new changes will Address racial and ethnic disparities in justice systems, respond more effectively to the mental health needs of young offenders and Improve reentry and aftercare programs for youth(Brown, 2015). I feel if we can work with adolescent while they're young and get them on the right track, it gives them a better chance at doing better.

Juvenile justice can be a difficult area for law enforcement. This is said because unlike adult offenders in the criminal justice system, the juvenile justice is about reform rather than incarceration. The thought process behind juvenile justice is to help these children to become better adults, not only for their community, but also for their workforce as well. There are some rules when handling delinquents. A great example would be an adult who has a public intoxication and has to spend a night in jail. Although, if a juvenile is caught doing the same thing he is to be taken home to his parents, or legal guardian. Also, the way a trial operates is also different. During a trial in adult court, it becomes a formal matter and can be subjected to a trial by jury. Whereas the trial in juvenile court is informal, and under no circumstances, can the defendant be tried in front of a jury. Lastly, the title of the judge is different in a juvenile case and is called a referee.