Personal Narrative: My Experience With Juvenile Cases

In Contrast to Bryan Stevenson’s “Just Mercy” stories of juveniles being tried as adults, Jason Zeidenberg in the article “The Risks Juveniles Face When They Are Incarcerated with Adults” strongly emphasizes the dangers and consequences that juveniles face when they are tried as adults. Zeidenberg states the consequences of juveniles being raped, assaulted, committing suicide and the effects of being victimized. Children who are housed in the same facility as Adults is not a good idea nor a good mix, according to Zeidenberg a “15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in Ohio by a deputy after she was placed in an adult jail for a minor in

The juvenile justice system is a foundation in society that is granted certain powers and responsibilities. It faces several different tasks, among the most important is maintaining order and preserving constitutional rights. When a juvenile is arrested and charged with committing a crime there are many different factors that will come in to play during the course of his arrest, trial, conviction, sentencing, and rehabilitation process. This paper examines the Juvenile Justice System’s court process in the State of New Jersey and the State of California.

The United States sentences more juveniles to death than any other nation in the world (Justice, 2009) and our juveniles are being sentenced as young as ten years of age. These are juveniles being tried as adults, and something has to change and change fast. The younger generation is supposed to be our future leaders. How will our juveniles or the citizens of this country prevail if this continues we won’t be able to because most of our future leaders will be prisoner. (B, 2005)

been in and out of the juvenile court system on numerous occasions. The 17-year-old young man

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 10,000 juveniles are confined in adult prisons and jails rather than in juvenile facilities that were built for them. Josh Rovner reports in his article “Juvenile Life Without Parole: An Overview” that 2,100 child offenders are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole before the age of 18. In 26 states, a life without parole sentence is mandatory for first degree murder – regardless of age. Juveniles housed in adult prisons face a disturbing number of dangers such as physical as well as sexual abuse, assault, and high rates of suicide. While juveniles should be held accountable for their actions, they should not be prosecuted as adults because they are incapable of exercising the same judgement and maturity as an adult, housing them in adult facilities leaves them vulnerable to their surroundings, limits their educational growth and giving out a harsh sentence will not rehabilitate them nor deter other juvenile crime.

The juvenile criminal system is different than typical charges. Therefore, it’s important to procure representation from a legal team who understand the nuances of a juvenile case. Timothy A. Cook, Attorney at Law is just such a legal team. Contact them to learn more about juvenile cases and how they can help you

Today, the court system in this country is divided into two groups when comparing juveniles and adults. One is the Adult Criminal Justice System, and the other is the Juvenile Justice System. The terminology can be very different between the two systems. For instance; if an adult is arrested, they will be subject to a bail hearing. If a juvenile is arrested they must go through a detention hearing. Adults have trials which can be decided by a judge or jury. Juveniles go through a fact finding hearing and don’t receive verdicts because they are adjudicated. “They are not found guilty, but delinquent or involved” (Komiscruk). Another difference between the two is that juvenile court rooms are usually closed to the public, which

As stated in the sixth amendment, criminal defendants have the right to counsel by a jury and a lawyer which, are the defense attorneys. Defense attorneys represent children in court and are there for all the stages of the proceedings. They help with determining whether there is “sufficient evidence to warrant filing a formal petition” (Siegel and Welsh 353). The defense attorneys also help with the ruling and disposition of the case. The defense attorneys are there to help the child better his life by seeking out opportunities for alternative plans instead of jail. Although, the defense attorneys are there to help the child out a lot of the time the child does not seem to confide in state appointed attorneys; they believe that the state

The midnight sky is pitch black with only a slight gleam of light emanating from the moon. The night is so silent that even a pin drop could be heard from miles away. No one is stirring and the world has drifted off into a deep sleep. The night seems blissfully peaceful. But the silence is torn by the sound of rustling leaves in the distance. Two dark shadows emerge from the forest and gaze heavily at the sleeping house. The two figures slowly creep towards the house with devious thoughts racing through their minds. They begin to tear open the window screen and quietly crawl into the house. A flashlight pierces through the darkness and flutters through the rooms. The figures begin to rummage through the house and fill their hands with wealth.

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

At the end of the 19th Century, the U.S. made legal history when the world's first juvenile court opened in Chicago(Horwitz-Prisco). The court was founded on two basic principles. First, juveniles lacked the maturity to take responsibility for their actions the way adults could. Second, because their character was not yet fully developed, they could be rehabilitated more successfully than adult criminals. More than a century later, these principles remain the benchmarks of juvenile justice in the United States(Horowitz-Prisco).In recent years, however, a growing number of juvenile criminals are being tried as adults. In part this stems from public outrage against children who are committing violent crimes. Many young children in America are

Once a month, year round, I am a panelist on the Ashland County Teen Court.Teen Court is a system of restorative justice set up for and run by youth in the community. The program is offered as an alternative to juvenile court, and gives them an opportunity to take responsibility for their own actions with community based sanctions given by their peers. I applied for and became a member of the panel roughly three years ago, and since then have witnessed the immense impact it can have on the youth who participate. Many of the kids who attend teen court are first time offenders that have made a poor choice and with hopes of a second chance; a chance to start over. This put me and the other panelists in a position of great responsibility as we

Although based on the adult criminal justice system, the juvenile justice process works differently. Juveniles can end up in court by way of arrest, truancy or for curfew violations or running away. A youth may also be referred to the juvenile court system by school officials or a parent or guardian for being continuously disobedient. The juvenile justice process involves several different steps including intake, detention, adjudication, disposition and aftercare following release from a juvenile correctional facility. In this paper we will breakdown the numerous steps involved in the juvenile justice process as well as compared some

Serious crimes such as murder, burglary and rape have raised questions as to whether the young offenders should face severe punitive treatment or the normal punitive measures in juvenile courts. Many would prefer the juveniles given harsh punishment in order to discourage other young people from engaging in similar activities and to serve as a lesson to these particular offenders. However, results from previous studies indicate such punitive measures were neither successful nor morally acceptable. Instead, the solutions achieved have unfairly treated the youths and compromised the society status (Kristin, page 1).

The nation’s first juvenile court was established in 1899 as a part of the Juvenile Court Act. It was founded on three principles: juveniles are not ready to be held accountable for their actions, are not yet fully developed, and can rehabilitate easier than adults. In all but three states, anyone charged with committing a criminal act before his or her eighteenth birthday is considered a juvenile offender. Now more than ever, states and countries have begun to question the reliability of the juvenile court. Some believe the juvenile court system should be abolished because of its insufficient gain to the community. Others believe children are not fully capable to understand the degree of their actions and the consequences that come from them and believe that juvenile courts are a necessity in the court system.