Juvenile Courts

One reason is because a juvenile does not have the level of maturity, thought process, decision-making, experience, or wisdom that an adult has, so they should not be subjected to the harsher adult punishments. Another reason is because juvenile courts decide how best to help juvenile offenders while protecting the interests of the public in maintaining an orderly society. Also, another reason that juvenile courts are need is because a younger offender if given the chance to be rehabilitated instead of harshly punished has a higher chance of change than that of someone set in their ways, which coincides with the presumptions that the juvenile court system follows in regards to juvenile

It is the very nature of the criminal justice system to hold those accountable for their actions. In the adult courts the purpos is to be judged by a jury of our peers and held accountable for crimes committed. There must be consequences faced for criminal actions. The adult and juvenile courts handle the proceedings quite differently. The adult court has a defendant whom appears for a bail hearing. The defendant than is sent to trial in front of a jury of his peers, based

When it comes to how each state handles the judicial system in their jurisdiction, it varies from state to state. All states construct their own juvenile judicial system and create their own laws. There are different beliefs in each state about what will distinguish differences in the juvenile and adult justice systems. In most jurisdictions, juveniles are considered delinquent and not guilty. ( "State Juvenile Justice Profiles" )

Today’s juvenile court system handles most cases involving those under the age of 18-year-old. This was not always the case and the ideal of a separate court system for adults and children is only about 100 years old. When looking at the differences that set juvenile courts apart, it is important to study the history and see how it developed over time.

As a contrast, there are many differences between the adult and juvenile justice system. These differences consist of the right to a jury, the right to post bail, leniency of evidence, different court proceedings, the right to a public trial, and rehabilitation efforts. As for the purpose of this paper, we will dissect the differences of the two systems. Many appeals have been filed under the notion that a right to a jury should be upheld for juvenile offenders. The courts have voted against this action time and time again. These appeals are made on the assumption that, as noted earlier, adult crimes should be tried as adult crimes. However, the court rules on this matter while keeping the rehabilitation efforts of the juvenile courts in mind, as opposed to the more punitive measures. Their desire to see kids treated as kids are defined with their upholding of the law, and pushing rehabilitation to its max. But should rehabilitation be the prime focus when the act is of adult capacity; even in a child’s body? I do not think so. What are the percentages of rehabilitation success with adults for committed capital offenses? How are they going to differ when a child partakes in them? I think there is a

The court process, probation and corrections will be affected as the need for alternative punishments will be necessary, however the main purpose will remain the same with a system wide focus on rehabilitation. A specialized juvenile court is best suited for deciding the fate and needs of juvenile offenders. The court will need to provide a sanction for the rehabilitation programs that best address the juvenile’s issues in lieu of or in tandem with the punishment that matches the crime. Juvenile probation will require ramping up as the case load will drastically increase as probation would be a necessary punishment to fulfill the need for victim justice.

In Florida, in 1996, Dona Bishop also preformed a study, which found that juveniles that were transferred were not less likely to reoffend, but had higher rates of recidivism. "The findings suggested that transfers made little difference in deterring youths from reoffending. Adult processing of youths in criminal court actually increases recidivism rather than having any incapacitative effects on crime control and community protection." When it comes to transferring a juvenile to adult court age does play a major factor in most states, but on the other hand there are a lot of states that do not have a minimum age for transferring juveniles to adult court(Champion 2008). In most states children can be held accountable for their actions between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. Tennessee, for example, is one of the states does not have a minimum age for transfer law. Juveniles ages 6, 10, and 16 share similiarites and differences when in comes to transfers. One similarity they share is that in some states depending on their crime it would not matter what age they were which could lead to the transfer of the juvenile to adult court. The difference is that some states if you are a certain age like 6 or 10 you could not be tried as and adult no

Today, the juvenile system primary goals are crime reduction and rehabilitation. The juvenile officials must assess whether youthful offenders are likely to commit crimes in the future and whether they can benefit from interventions. If these kids cannot benefit, then they will most like end up a delinquent. In most states delinquency is defined as the commission of a criminal act by a child who was under the age of 18 at that time (Virginia Rules). Most states allow youth to remain under the supervision of the juvenile court until the age of 21, but this depends on the type of crime that was committed. There has been many times where a juvenile case was transferred to an adult criminal court. This would have to be done thru a process called a waiver. A waiver is when a judge waives the protections that the juvenile court provides (Larry J. Siegel). Cases that

Juvenile Justice Centers do not help the children in the centers in any way, and they do not care about the children either. These centers do more harm than good. They do not support children with learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral problems, and health issues. Also, it is very hard to get a high school diploma, and even to finish high school while locked up.

In forty-one states the maximum age of a juvenile before being charged as an adult is 17, while it is 16 in 7 states and 15 in two states. However, these numbers are not concrete, as youths

There is no national law stating at what age a minor could be tried as an adult. All states have different regulations on treating a case of a minor that committed a crime. With fourteen states not even having a minimum age. There should be a national law that refers to the requirements for a minor to be tried as an adult. Questions like: what did the child do? Was it the child's’ intent to commit the crime he did? And most importantly Is the child old enough to comprehend the

Detention hearing process has been frown upon and detested ever since juvenile courts were created. The original purpose of detention was to hold the juvenile in a secure location until intake could review the child’s case and make a decision.

In other cases juveniles can end up in the court by way of truancy or for violating curfew laws or running away. A youth may also be referred to the juvenile court system by school officials or a parent. The juvenile justice process involves several different steps all leading toward justice and the rehabilitation of the juvenile. Once a youth has been introduced to the justice system they are on the path to become labeled as a juvenile delinquent.

Additionally, the judge’s determination of sentencing affects the life of not only the child, the family but the community as well. The juvenile court judge is the most prominent individual in the juvenile justice system.

Teen courts on the other hand specialize in handling youths in a juvenile setting. The evidence on the effectiveness of teen courts are mixed as well, many studies shows improvement