Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act Of 1974

The originally Bill of Rights protected the rights of citizens from infringement by the federal government, but made no mention of the states. The Fourteen Amendment, adopted shortly after the Civil War, protected citizenship and individual rights from infringement by state governments. Under the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause, the United States Supreme Court began to apply the most important rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights against the states. This process began in the early 1900s and is known as the doctrine of selective incorporation. Duncan versus Louisiana was the landmark case in which the court incorporated the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial against the states.

There were several decisions made by the Supreme Court that formalized courts for juveniles, making them more like criminal courts. Formal hearings were required, juveniles who faced confinement were given the right to receive a notice of the charges being held against them, and also came along the right to be represented by an attorney. In the 1980’s the public noticed that juvenile crimes were rising and that the system was not effective. Soon states began implementing disciplinary laws, some which included a mandatory sentencing and automatically being sent to adult court for certain crimes committed.

In re Gault¹ stems from a case involving a boy named Gerald Gault who at the time of incident was a 15-year-old boy from Arizona who was charged with making obscene telephone calls to a neighbor, Mrs. Cook. Gerald Gault was sent to a detention facility without notifying his parents, questioned by a Probation officer without having an attorney or parent present, and after a short hearing, was found to be delinquent and sent to the state “industrial school” until he turned 21. After Gault was sentenced, his parents filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the state courts to challenge the constitutionality of the Arizona Juvenile Code and the procedures used in their son’s case. The petition was dismissed by both the Superior Court of Arizona and the Arizona Supreme Court. The Gault’s not satisfied with either court’s decision sought relief in the United States Supreme Court. Upon review, the Court agreed to hear the case to determine the procedural due process rights of a juvenile criminal defendant².

It has been one hundred years since the creation of the juvenile court in the United States. The court and the juvenile justice system has made some positive changes in the lives of millions of young people lives over the course or those years, within the last thirteen years there has been some daunting challenges in the system.

Beginning in the 1960s, the US Supreme Court decided on a succession of landmark cases that histrionically altered the processes and all around atmosphere of the Juvenile Justice System in America. One case in particular that played a major role in the Juvenile field is Kent vs. US (383 US. 541 [1966]). The landmark case Kent vs. United States, observed as the first chief juvenile rights case in our history. This important case established the collective standards that entitled juveniles the right to waivers and preliminary hearings, which ensured due process was served. This would ultimately decide if the court would shift Kent into adult jurisdiction or allow him to remain in the juvenile system.

America is built on the foundation of society being run and well-flowing around the three values the Republic of the United States hold most dear to: equality, freedom, and justice. The rights of the accused is an important factor in maximizing justice. Amendments 4-8 in the Bill of Rights specifically detail how criminal law should be dealt with, and how justice can be ensured every step of the way. The Fifth and Sixth Amendments contain two systems that go hand in hand with one another, a due process and a trial by jury for all citizens. Amendments 4-8, a Due Process, and a Trial by Jury are essential for establishing the rights of the accused and their absence would be detrimental to the effectiveness of the American criminal justice system.

The US Constitution established America’s national government, fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. The framers of the Constitution ensured that the government would be just, and protect its citizens from internal discord. The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments in The Constitution and are to be our most basic of rights. The 5th amendment states “life, liberty, and property without due process of the law”. The 5th Amendment protects people from being held for committing a crime unless properly prosecuted, from being tried twice for the same crime, from being forced to testify against yourself, and from property being taken without payment. It also contains due process guarantees. Due Process gives

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) is the principal federal program through which the federal government sets standards for juvenile justice systems at the state and local levels. It provides direct funding for states, research, training, and technical assistance, and evaluation. The JJDPA was originally enacted in 1974 and even though the JJDPA has been revised several times over the past 30 years, its basic composition has remained the same. Since the act was passed in 1974, the JJDPA focused solitary on preventing juvenile delinquency and on rehabilitating juvenile offenders.

A juvenile or “youthful inmate” as defined by the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) is any person under the age of eighteen who is under adult-court supervision and incarcerated or detained in a prison or jail. While PREA defines a juvenile as under the age of eighteen the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) allows the states to set their own definition of a juvenile (Lahey). This discrepancy in the definition of a juvenile has caused problems and slow progress with states coming towards compliance with PREA. States, such as North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, Missouri, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas and Louisiana have set the upper limit for a juvenile at sixteen. Texas, recently has agreed to comply with the terms of PREA. Louisiana automatically prosecutes seventeen year olds as adults, even for minor offenses (Neustrom). Sentencing juveniles to adult prison is risking the juvenile’s safety by putting them in a situation where they are vulnerable and more likely to be physically or sexually assaulted, commit suicide and it also causes an increase in the recidivism.

They had the right to counsel, the right to receive notify of charges, protection against double jeopardy between juvenile court and adult court, and proof must be established beyond a reasonable doubt, and they do not have a Constitutional right of trial by jury. But, formal hearings were required in situations where youth faced transfer to adult court or a period of long-term institutional confinement. In 1984, the Supreme Court ruled that because of Parens Patriae, which was established in the England court system and cared over to the United States court system, juvenile could be held in detention until their court date or hearing (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2017). Finally, the current period is the Crime Control Period from 1980 to present. In the 1980’s, the public view was that the juvenile court system was too lenient and juvenile crime were on the rise, but in the 1990’s many States passed the punitive law which included mandatory sentencing and transferring juveniles to adult court for certain crimes. Due to the increase in crime rate and the tremendously number of juveniles committing crimes, policies are focusing more on crime control

The three amendments that are used to protect the rights of those accused of a crime include, the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment. “The Fourth Amendment in the Constitution, contains protection against unreasonable searches and seizures and protects people’s homes, property, and effects” (as cited in Peak, 2015, p. 180). “The Fifth Amendment in the Constitution, among other protections, guards against self-incrimination and double jeopardy” (as cited in Peak, 2015, p. 180). “The Sixth Amendment in the Bill of Rights, guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, the right to effective counsel at trial and other protections” (as cited in Peak, 2015, p. 180). These three Amendments, in summary mean that any person who is accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty, and their rights are just as important as anyone else. They have the natural born right to have their rights as citizens protected under the law, and ensure fair treatment from law enforcement officers.

The Fifth Amendment in US constitution was proposed by Congressman James Madison on June 8, 1789 and was passed on September 25, 1789. It was later ratified by Congress on December 15, 1791 as “Bill of Rights”. It provides a number of rights which are relevant to both Civil and Criminal legal proceedings. In Criminal cases, it provides a right to Grand Jury. It forbids “double jeopardy” and also protects against self-incrimination. In Civil cases, it requires the “due process of law” to be part of proceedings which denies a citizen “life, liberty or property”. At the same time it requires government to

There would be a constitutional issue because juvenile have certain constitutional rights at negotiation, such as the right to a lawyer and the right to challenge and interrogate witnesses, but they have no right to a trial by jury. The subject of juvenile’s rights is poorly defined in the courts, somewhat because the public as a whole has not decided how much independence to grant juvenile. When most juvenile’s supporters talk about juvenile’s rights, they are not stating to the same rights detained by adults, such as the rights to vote. Instead, they mean that more importance should be placed on juvenile’s standing as “regular persons” eligible of benefits under the law as providing in the United States Constitution and its Bill of Rights.

Laws tend to make the lives of every individual safer and pleasant. The subject of this paper focuses on evaluating and identifying the Constitutional safeguards within the 4th, 5th, and 6th amendments of the United States Constitution. How these safeguards to the 4th, 5th, and 6th amendment will apply to juvenile and adult court proceedings. Finally, this paper will focus the impact that these safeguards, such as speedy trial, Miranda warning, exclusionary rule, and right to counsel will have on the day- to- day operation for juvenile and adult courts.

This paper will discuss the history of the juvenile justice system and how it has come to be what it is today. When a juvenile offender commits a crime and is sentenced to jail or reform school, the offender goes to a separate jail or reforming place than an adult. It hasn’t always been this way. Until the early 1800’s juveniles were tried just like everyone else. Today, that is not the case. This paper will explain the reforms that have taken place within the criminal justice system that developed the juvenile justice system.