Teen Court Narrative

Placing a juvenile in a detention center early in the court process increases the risk that youths will be found to be delinquent and damage their prospects for future success. A majority of the youths that are placed in these facilities pose little or no threat to the public and essentially do not need to be there. This portion of the juvenile court process is detrimental to the future and mental aspects of a youth’s life. We desperately need to change the way that we handle the juvenile court system because we are only reinforcing the delinquent behavior that these youths have been exposed to. We need to focus on the rehabilitation and prevention efforts for these youths not the punishment aspect and until then (insert a better ending).

By reading this book, I learned a lot about teenagers’ critical situations at juvenile hall. This book gave me a greater insight and deeper understanding of what their lives are like and the challenges they face in this place. I also learned that the legal system is not doing a great deal to help these young kids mend their lives. They are not being offered counseling or therapy which could help facilitate a great deal of things for them such as, getting a better orientation of a path for them to follow, dealing with the excessive amount of stress they face in a healthy way

In the United States, over 90,000 juveniles are incarcerated in juvenile justice facilities. To house 90,000 juveniles, majority non-violent offenders, it costs the states roughly 5.7 billion dollars annually. “With states facing serious budgetary constraints, it is an opportune time or policymakers to consider ways to reduce juvenile justice spending that won’t compromise public safety.” In the effort to reduce juvenile justice costs, community-based programs known as pretrial diversion programs were implemented. Pretrial diversion programs did not only reduce funding costs, but benefited the juvenile as well. Pretrial diversion programs main objective is to rehabilitate juvenile offenders, which ultimately led to lower recidivism rates and safer communities. As a result of the benefits to all parties involved, today’s juvenile judicial system offers more juveniles the opportunity to attend these diversion programs; rather than proceed through traditional criminal justice processes. (Justice Policy Institution)

On 10/28/16 at 1838 hrs, I was dispatched to an assist citizen at 5660 82nd Ter N Pinellas Park, FL 33781 regarding a juvenile hitting the complainant vehicle and leaving the scene.

I have been volunteering at teen court since eighth grade and currently am in my fifth year in the program. Many teenagers in my community commit crimes such as larceny, affray, possession of drugs, etc., but are unaware of the consequences when such incidents occur. Teen court alleviates the worst case scenario of these adolescents having a blemish on the record – a blotch that could hinder future college and job prospects. Instead of just merely facing punishment, the defendants that undergo teen court are given constructive sentences such as community service or teen court jury duty. However, there is another catch. Their peers take over all of the traditional courtroom roles, from jurors to clerks to bailiffs to even attorneys. The only traditional role taken over by an adult is that of the judge, who is generally an actual judge or

America’s juvenile justice system has been around for ages and has had problems since its creation. The courts have failed to devise a way to help juveniles and keep them from even entering the justice system. More often than not, juveniles are forgotten and never dealt with until they reach the point where they are either going to be placed within the system or receive some sort of diversion or alternative. This is where the problem exists. There needs to be more communication between the different levels of the juvenile justice system. Particularly between the officers that may arrest these juveniles, the probation officers that deal with them, and of course the judge in the court system. The juvenile court is supposed to have provided due process protections along with care, treatment, and rehabilitation for juveniles while protecting society. Yet, there is still considerable doubt as to whether the juvenile justice network can meet these goals (Cox, Allen & Hanser, 2013).

Teen Court’s successes first derive from the aspect of using sentencing as a way of personal reform instead of just by punishment. This gives the program the ability to have a greater impact on these first-time offenders because they are given the opportunity to think about their actions and correct their wrongdoings. First-time offenders, teens who do not have a juvenile record, are typically kids who get involved with the wrong crowd and commit crimes such as underage drinking or shoplifting. These special court cases are not a determination of innocence or guilt, but a way of determining the

A New Jersey high school teacher, discovered a fourteen year old freshman student (Tracy Lois Odem) and her acquaintance smoking cigarettes in the restroom. Which, is a violation of school policy taken to the principle's office. The Assistant Vice Principal questioned the student about her smoking the cigarettes. With her response, claiming that she did not smoke the cigarettes. Demanding to see her purse in attempt to find cigarettes, rolling paper which, can be used to smoke marijuana. Further into the search, he found a small plastic bag containing marijuana, a pipe, money, and a piece of paper with names of students who owed Tracy Lois Odem money. Which, implicated T.l.O was dealing in marijuana. The school administrator contacted the police

Tony Cotton, who has been the lead attorney for one of the girls, said ahead of the

Some landmark case that made a different with juvenile in adult prison is the People ex rel. O’Connell v. Turner (1870). According to Chapter 6 Jails: Way Stations Along the Justice Highway it states, “The Illinois Supreme Court began the movement towards creating a separate juvenile court”(Way Stations Along the Justice Highway ,2015). This was the change that started to isolate the adult and the youth from being in the same cell in prison. Kent V. United States (1966) is another case that made in impact with the juveniles in the system. According to Corrections in the 21st century by Schmalleger and Smykla (2001) states, “In cases involving transfer of jurisdiction, juveniles are entitled to certain essential due process right, such as a hearing, an attorney, access to records, a written

It was with a small amount of embarrassment that I looked down from the bench (where the district court judge would have sat) upon a small girl, no older than 15, and her father shuffle in and find their seats in the courthouse. I was one of three judges that were assigned to hear, and give sentencing in this case by the local Youth Court office. The details of the case are as follows, the girl had been found by police, roaming the streets intoxicated at 3 am on a Thursday night. This was not like many of the other cases that I had experienced through my two years with Youth Court, due to the extremity of the case, and the reaction that was generated from the girl.

This student/advocate is choosing to focus on the Juvenile Court system. The goal of juvenile court may differ from criminal court, but the processes have parity in operation. Both systems are committed to protecting society and holding criminal offenders culpable for their actions. Depending on the jurisdiction and the accessibility of programs, status offenders and Part II juvenile offenders may enter alternative restoration programs instead of the juvenile court system. In regards to Part I predatory and violent offenders, these should be removed from society; therefore, traditional justice is a necessity.

Teen Court is a program where teenagers experience the journey of lawyers or juries and determine the future of their peers, who have broken a law. As punishment, the defendant will be given a tour of the Juvenile Hall, in hope of intimidation bestowed upon them, which will result in them never wanting to return. As part of the jury, one may wonder how frightening this tour is and if so, how effective is it. In the Juvenile Hall, juvenile delinquents contain leverage amongst their peers along with the community they live in, in both positive and negative ways.

We have received your letter and will do the best to answer your questions a thoroughly as possible. The order that was set on March 09, 2015 and according to the order you were notified by certified mail. This hearing was held in The Common Pleas Court, Miami County, Ohio Juvenile Court. With this order they based it off of your income at the time which they have as 52,000 a year. At this point you can either request for a review on the case which would require you to fill out a JFS form 1849 request for an administrative review, or you could file with the juvenile courts. For an administrative review to take place you must wait until you are released from jail. Then you could request an administrative review. However, this request is not

Juvenile justice is a last stop towards prison that offers the youths with the last chance of redefining their lives and helps bring them back on track and towards college and productive life. Juveniles are at a risk of many problems since their age makes them vulnerable to drug use, bad peer influence that may lead to breaking the law in a number of ways, (Ramsay and Morrison, 2010). Since the groups are vulnerable, it is crucial that special programs and practices be designed to help them and put their lives in track.