Juvenile Offenders And The Adult Courts For Trial

One of the most debatable topics in today’s justice system is whether or not juveniles should receive waivers to adult court. There are three methods that are used to transfer a juvenile to adult court. Juvenile waiver, statutory exclusion, and Concurrent Jurisdiction are the three different methods used to transfer a juvenile to adult court. Statutory exclusion is when the juvenile is transferred immediately to the adult court. Concurrent Jurisdiction is when the juvenile may be tried as an adult and a juvenile at once. Throughout all three methods juvenile waiver is the most common one that is used throughout juvenile courts and used in mostly all states. The only states that do not provide judicial waivers are Nebraska, New York, and New Mexico. When a judge transfers a juvenile to adult court, he or she is denying the protections that the juveniles receive. The judge makes the decision of whether or not the juvenile is tried as an adult. Double Jeapordy laws protect the juvenile from being tried in juvenile court and then adult court because of the fact that a juvenile would be tried twice. Most times 17 or 18 year olds are the youngest age limits that can be waived to adult court, but in some states ages low as 13 or 14 can be waived. It depends on the crime that a juvenile commits on whether or not he or she is transferred to adult court. Once the juvenile is tried as an adult, he or she will be affect in the community for a lifetime versus having his or her records

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.

Today’s heated debate regarding the decision to try juveniles as adults has prompted individuals to construct opinionated and informational articles on the topic. The nation’s troubled youth are protected by groups that believe these offenders deserve rehabilitation and a chance to develop into a productive member of society. However, others believe that those committing certain heinous crimes should be tried as adults as a means to protect public safety, prevent second offenders, and “dispense justice in the form of punishment” (Aliprandini & Michael, 2016). Because these perspectives offer a reasonable and valid argument, juveniles responsible for major crimes

In Texas, the Juvenile Law states that, “a juvenile is defined as a person who is not old enough to be held responsible for criminal acts.” In order for a juvenile to be tried as an adult, a prosecutor can use one of many ways to go about this. One way prosecutors can proceed, in trying the juvenile as an adult, is by exercising the 2011 Senate Bill 1209. This bill gives counties in Texas the option to hold certified youth in juvenile facilities while they await trial. However, the law does not state specifically that they have to be detained in a juvenile facility. The juveniles can also be detained in an adult facility. Another way prosecutors are trying juveniles as adults is by not allowing the rehabilitation programs to run their course when the juvenile turns 19 years of age. The argument has also been made that juveniles in prison for nonviolent offenses are much different in the adult prison system.

The law lists various factors to be considered by the court in making these decisions. If the court determines that the criteria for transfer have been met and sufficient probable cause has been established, the juvenile may be transferred to criminal court. The disposition of the juvenile shall be as if the juvenile was an adult. The order of transfer shall specify the grounds for transfer and a bond can be set if the offense is bailable pursuant to the state of Tennessee's law. The Reverse Waiver is also implemented. If a nonlawyer makes the decision to transfer the case, a special provision entitles the juvenile to an immediate de novo rehearing at the criminal court level. After a petition has been filed alleging delinquency based on conduct that under the law a public offense has been committed, local ordinances and the court of the state of Tennessee before hearing the petition on the merits, may transfer the juvenile to the sheriff of the county to be held according to law and to be dealt with as an adult in the criminal court of competent jurisdiction. The criminal court may either accept jurisdiction or remand the case to

The Tennessee standard for transferring juvenile offenders from the juvenile court system to adult court examines multiple factors such as age, the seriousness of the crime committed, and a transfer hearing must be conducted (Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, 2017). The state of Tennessee requires the juvenile be at least sixteen when the crime occurred, or a request for transfer can initiated if the child is less than sixteen and commits, or attempts to commit one of the following crimes: first degree murder, second degree murder, rape, aggravated rape, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, aggravated robbery, especially aggravated robbery, kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated kidnapping, commission of an act of terrorism, or an attempt to commit any such offenses (Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, 2017). If the prosecutor is seeking prosecution in criminal court, then a juvenile transfer hearing will be held to determine probable cause for the transfer (Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, 2017). Let us examine the elements the prosecution must establish during the hearing in order to complete the transfer.

In California a decision is made if a juvenile is to be transferred to adult court at the age of 14 if the juvenile is a repeat offender or commits a heinous crime (e.g. murder, rape, or aggravated assault) and at the age of 16 for any crime that is heinous is automatically

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

Juveniles can be sentenced for periods of time so long it usually prohibits them from many things they could or hoped to accomplish in their lifetime, such as getting married, having children , possibly joining the military, etc. “The determination whether a young person is prosecuted in juvenile court or in the adult criminal court is at its core a question about punishment” ( Vaughan 1 ). Young juveniles could have possibly just been in the wrong place at the wrong time when a crime is committed so therefore they could end up being punished as an adult if the court decides that. Kids that are associated to a crime and put in jail sometimes should maybe be given a second chance or have their part in the case looked at differently depending on the role they played in the crime that was

Getting transferred into a big adult facility affects the way the teenager develops mentally and physically. Nearly all of the juveniles that get taken in for trial, do not have a fully developed mentality or brain. The mind at this young age is not fully developed which means that the minor will not develop into an adult mind like they should. Teenagers in this environment are five times as likely to get sexually assaulted by another prisoner in an adult prison. Beating is one of the most common injury that happens to these juveniles. Committing suicide among these juveniles in an adult facility is eight times more likely to occur than in a juvenile facility. Punishment this harsh is a failed strategy in trying to change these juvenile’s behaviors and making them have more positive attitudes and beliefs. Juveniles tried as adults puts them in a spot where they are most likely to not get any classes on rehabilitation. The juvenile’s criminal record could contain more weight after they finish their sentence since they were not rehabilitated or around much experience with maturity ("6 facts about crime and the adolescent brain",

Tennessee state law regarding juvenile expungements states the offense can be expunged if the petitioner is 18 years of age or older, is at least 1 year removed from the person’s most recent delinquency adjudication and has never been convicted of a criminal offense as an adult, has never been convicted of a sexual offense and the court finds the petitioner has maintained a consistent and exemplary pattern of responsible, productive and civic minded conduct for one or more years immediately preceding the filing for expungement or the court believes it is in the best interest of the child (Tennessee Code Annotated 37-1-153, 2016). If the crime committed as a juvenile was a serious offense such as a sexual offense cannot be expunged and can be

In the State of Tennessee, a juvenile is considered under the age of eighteen and has not been transferred to adult court (TN Court, n.d.). The state law that governs expungement of juvenile records in Tennessee is Tennessee Code Annotated (T.C.A.) 37-1-506. T.C.A. 37-1-506 states that the council appointed by the state “shall develop guidelines and procedures to expunge identifying information collected on juveniles; provided, that such expunction shall occur only after the juvenile reaches the age that is beyond jurisdiction of the juvenile court” (Lexis Nexis, 2017). This is required to be reported every year by September 1st. Upon receipt of an order of expungement of the charge for which the child was placed on county probation or received prevention services “the department shall expunge that child's information from

In California a decision is made if a juvenile is to be transferred to adult court at the age of 14 if the juvenile is a repeat offender or commits a heinous crime (e.g. murder, rape, or aggravated assault) and at the age of 16 for any crime that is

As more minors are committing violent crimes, the question of whether they should be tried as adults has arisen. Children as young as 13 or 14 are committing violent crimes such as murder, rape, and armed robbery. Some of these children are being tried as adults while others are being tried as juveniles and receiving milder punishments. A juvenile offender may receive a few years in a juvenile detention facility and possibly probation following his release at age eighteen. An adult committing the same violent crime will receive a much harsher penalty, often years in jail, possibly a life sentence, with little or no chance of parole. The only difference between the two offenders is the age at which they committed the crime. Juveniles over

Regardless of age, a killer is a killer. A killer can be the daily customer you have at your job or the child you’re babysitting. “The Supreme Court justices would be wise as well as compassionate to strike a balance: Make juvenile offenders responsible for their actions but don't completely rob them of hope. And this should apply not only to the inmates who were 14 at the time of their crimes but to the remaining 2,497 who were 15 to 18 years old,” (Ellison 19). Kids make mistakes all the time, that doesn’t mean we should take their life away from them. With overlooking the listed factors in court when sentencing a juvenile, this will improve the number of children in prisons. Not all of these children partake in the act because of evil, but merely because of