The Issue Of Juvenile Drug Possession

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.

These cases both received national and international attention but the notoriety of the cases should not detract from the poorly thought out public policy that supports the rendering of such excessive and non-individualized punishments to juveniles. In a society that is focused on law and order it has become acceptable for the prosecution of all criminals defendant, including juveniles, to be controlled by automatic, legislatively determined sentencing that places politicians, not judges, in the position of deciding who is incarcerated, who should be tried and punished as adults, and who should be sent to a juvenile program for possible rehabilitation. On the juvenile level, led by politicians who rose to power on a law and order platform, state laws were changed so that sentencing decisions on juveniles that were once based on child development theories are now based on strict statutory construction. This was clearly demonstrated in the Tate case

In the United States of America today when a person has been committed of a crime they are trialed through a system to conclude if they are guilty as well as determine their best fit punishment of due to the crime. From what most people know when an adult is put through this process they have the right to a quick and speedy trial with a jury to determine if they are guilty and they are given their punishment. However, within our system the process of punishment and sentencing is significantly different if the defendant of the crime is under the age of 18, if they are under 18 they are legally considered a child and are not put through the same system and punishment with which adult are. They are but through what we call a juvenile court system.

Years ago, the common image of an adolescent drug abuser was a teen trying to escape from reality on illegal substances like cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. Today, there is a great discrepancy between that perception and the reality of who is likely to abuse drugs. A teenage drug abuser might not have to look any further than his or her parent’s medicine chest to ‘score.’ Prescription drug abuse by teens is on the rise. Also, teens are looking to prescription drugs to fulfill different needs other than to feel good or escape the pressures of adulthood. Teens may be just as likely to resort to drugs with ‘speedy’ side effects, like Ritalin to help them study longer, as they are to use prescription

There are times juveniles should not be convicted as adults because sometimes the “crimes” may not harsh enough to be charged as an adult. For example, if a 8 year old saw a gun in their mother's purse and thought it was a toy and grabbed it and began to shoot who would be at fault ? Plus children in adult prisons are 10 times more likely to be taken advantage of in their time. Research shows that children prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system are more likely to reoffend than those held in the juvenile justice

legally intoxicated in order to be found guilty of minor in possession of alcohol or drugs. Some

There is much debate over whether or not juveniles should ever be tried as adults. Juveniles are defined as children under the age of 18. In the past, juveniles have been tried in a separate juvenile court because of their age. However, trying juveniles as adults for violent crimes is a trend that is on the rise. Age is supposed to be a deterrent for placing those under 18 on trial and giving them stiffer punishments that are often reserved for adults. Many debate whether or not juveniles really should have less severe punishments or if trying some juveniles as adults will lower juvenile crime rates.

Drug addicts have a hard time keeping a job, their families suffer the consequences, and sometimes the addicts find themselves either involved with breaking the law. The police can decide not to charge you if you are under 18 years old for minor drugs offences. If you are on a full driving licence and are convicted with driving under the influence of drugs then you could be charged up to $3200 or be imprisoned up to 9 months.

Determining for sure whether there are grounds to object to the search and seizure requires review of all of the reports regarding the case. Depending on the nature and quantity of the drugs seized, this could possibly be a serious case. In any event, the person involved should consult with a criminal defense attorney or, if he cannot afford private counsel, with the public defender if he is charged.

Any individual below the age of 18 can be termed as a child. However, any child above the age of 14 at the time of the crime can be tried as an adult. This age can even be lower and differs among states. For instance, the youngest ever recorded successful trial as an adult was of a 12-year-old (Alexford, 2015). Almost every such case starts in a juvenile court with a felony accusation. The court must direct hearings and make

The use of moving a child from the Juvenal Court system and placing them in the Adult Court system to stand trial for criminal offenses as an adult in a judicial process that has been happening, more and more, in the United States over the past 40 years (Kilkelly, 2016). The criminal charges that have faced the young offenders under the age of 18 moving them to receive harsh punishments from the Adult Court Systems in the United States are crimes such as rape, murder, and drug offenses just to name a few of them (Kilkelly, 2016).

“The juvenile justice system was first created in the late 1800s to reform United States policies on how to handle youth offenders. Since that time, a number of reforms - aimed at both protecting the "due process of law" rights of youth, and creating an aversion toward jail among the young - have made the juvenile justice system more comparable to the adult system, which is a shift from the United States’ original intent (2008,Lawyer Shop.com).” The

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

However, the transfer laws do not lower the juvenile crime rates. For example, in New York a law that sent violent juvenile offenders to criminal courts did not have an effect on violent juvenile crime. Serious crimes presented before the adult criminal court included murder, assault, burglary, rape and arson. In other cases, young offenders become aware of the consequences once tried in the adult courts. When committing the crimes, they think that they will receive light punishments imposed by juvenile courts but when referred to adult courts, the youth tend to become more responsible. Therefore, prior knowledge of resultant punishment plays role in crime reduction among the youths. Subjecting the young offenders to face adult courts brings to their attention the seriousness of the matter at hand (Jeff, page 8).

Even though it is illegal if the drug abusers have not been caught they will continue to use the drug and use others. Many adolescences experiment with marijuana due to curiosity and peer pressure studies have shown that the use of marijuana at a young age causes the adolescences to want to try more dangerous narcotics such as cocaine and heroin. An article titled “Evidence That Marijuana Is a Gateway to other Illicit Drug Use” by Joseph Gfoerer, Li-Tzy Wu, and Michael Penne states that, “the highest prevalence of use of heroin, cocaine, and psychotherapeutics in the lifetime was noted among those who initiated marijuana before they were 15 years old. With many young people trying strong narcotics illegally it is no surprise that other young people will also become more apt to try these heavier drugs. The article, “Marijuana is a Dangerous Drug for Teens” by Joseph Calfifano discuses why marijuana is so dangerous for teens and how the gateway effect plays part in this problem. The article states that marijuana use is a “signal of trouble”, the troubles include lack of growth, focus, and motor skills. He also brings up the gateway effect in the article the statistics he uses include, “Twelve to seventeen year olds who smoke marijuana are eighty five times more likely to use cocaine than those who would not.” These statists are very strong in