The Juvenile Justice System Is A State Level System Of Juvenile Correctional Facilities

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.

When it comes to how each state handles the judicial system in their jurisdiction, it varies from state to state. All states construct their own juvenile judicial system and create their own laws. There are different beliefs in each state about what will distinguish differences in the juvenile and adult justice systems. In most jurisdictions, juveniles are considered delinquent and not guilty. ( "State Juvenile Justice Profiles" )

There have been many studies conducted that examine ways in which the juvenile justice system responds to female offenders. Historically juvenile female offenders have been treated under status offense jurisdiction (Zahn et al., 2010, p. 10). United States Courts would exercise the principle of “parens patriae” to place the female in detention as a form of punishment for misbehavior (Sherman, 2012, pp. 1589-1590). This principle also remains prevalent as it pertains to how the juvenile justice system currently responds to juvenile female offenders.

According to Juvenile Courts, a juvenile is classified into three different groups. The first group is considered a Delinquent. A Delinquent is a person who is under age (usually below 18), who is found to have committed a crime in states that have declared by law that a minor lacks responsibility and thus may not be sentenced as an adult (Legal Dictionary). Another term a juvenile can be referred to be a status offender. A status offender is a juvenile charged with or adjudicated for conduct that would not, under the law of the jurisdiction in which the offense was committed, be a crime if committed by an adult (Act 4 Juvenile Justice). Finally a Juvenile can be identified as a dependent and neglected child. These are usually youth that are deprived and in need of support and supervision (Cliff Notes)

The defense of minors charged with criminal offenses in Harford, Cecil and Baltimore Counties, is something Timothy A. Cook, Attorney at Law is well equipped to handle. In fact, it’s one of their practice’s main focus areas. Juvenile law of course refers to individuals aged 18 years-of-age and under who have committed acts that would be treated as crimes with regard to punishment if they were older. In other words, someone charged with a crime while aged 18 and under will be treated differently than those aged 19 and over. The goal of the juvenile justice system in each state is to rehabilitate the individual while they are young, hopefully releasing a responsible adult into society who can contribute in a positive way. The following is more information on

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

Juvenile delinquency has become a controversial issue within the Criminal Justice system. In the United States, juvenile delinquency refers to disruptive and criminal behavior committed by an individual under the age of 18. In many states, a minor at the age of 16 to 17 ½ can be tried as an adult. Once the individual reaches adulthood, the disruptive and criminal behavior is recognized as a crime. However, the criminal justice system has divided juvenile delinquency into two general types of categories that has brought upon controversial issues of inequality and corruption. Yet, putting young individuals in juvenile detentions facilities seems to open the door for them to commit more crimes in the future. Therefore, under certain circumstances juveniles should be tried as an adult.

Connecticut legislated that children under a certain age are liable as delinquents for committing any crimes that if an adult would have done would be considered criminal. Prior to 1995 Public Act Connecticut’s juvenile justice system was designed to be non-criminal and rehabilitative. In Connecticut anyone under the age of 16 is considered a child and anyone who is at least 16 or almost 18 are considered a youth. They now serve crimes that were done before the alleged suspect turn(s) sixteen. The Connecticut Juvenile Justice System represents both delinquency petitions and Family with Service Needs (FWSN) petitions. The police will send cases to the Superior Court for juvenile Matters, but if the crime committed is done by a 14 year old or older it is sent to an adult criminal court. They have punished juvenile offenders who are culpable.

The characteristics of these offenders and the crimes they are committing are also changing over time. Demographically the juvenile female offender is most likely coming from a single parent home and may have been physically or sexually abused at some point in her life. She will also most likely be under the age of 15 and even more likely to be a woman of color, African-American young woman comprise almost 50 percent of all young women in secure detention, while Hispanics make up 13 percent (Bergsmann, 1994). In 1996, females represented 57 percent of the arrests for running away. In 1996, females represented 15 percent of juvenile arrests for violent crimes, while arrests of boys for violent offenses declined by 9 percent (Snyder, 1997). Aggravated assault, the most frequent of the violent offenses committed by juveniles, represented 20 percent of all arrests for juvenile females, while declining for boys by 10 percent (Snyder, 1997). In considering these changes it is still important to note that girls are still arrested more often for status offenses it is becoming more evident that girls are engaging in delinquent behaviors more often

In other cases juveniles can end up in the court by way of truancy or for violating curfew laws or running away. A youth may also be referred to the juvenile court system by school officials or a parent. The juvenile justice process involves several different steps all leading toward justice and the rehabilitation of the juvenile. Once a youth has been introduced to the justice system they are on the path to become labeled as a juvenile delinquent.

It is sad and depressing to hear when teenagers are involved in deplorable behavior and youth crimes are increasing worldwide. When a juvenile or youth is arrested under crimes such as a theft, murder, rape, DUI, drug possession, the hearings are conducted in a separate Juvenile Court that may charge them of serious penalties like fines, house arrest, jail, community service, a criminal record, probation, psychiatric evaluations, drug testing and treatment or counseling. Since a juvenile crime can have far reaching effect on his future, the court does not conduct a jury trial but exercises discretionary powers which most likely lead to some sort of rehabilitation only. To determine such cases, age, mental and physical maturity, history of criminal record of juvenile at time of crime and damages suffered by the accused play a very important role. In Dayton, Ohio if a child (below 18 years) has attained an age of 14 years or above at the time of crime, he can be tried in an adult court. All hearings in the beginning are held in a juvenile court to determine whether the case need to transferred to adult court for further legal proceedings to make a decision or finding more facts on the case. This process is normally termed as bindover, waiver or transfer of

What is meant here is the fact that, unlike adult offenders, juveniles have larger options in this regard. At this point, it is possible to refer to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA), which resulted in dramatic changes—mandating the removal of juveniles from adult jails and police lock-ups, requiring a parallel system of juvenile detention centers for those who needed to be held securely, and forbidding the secure confinement of status offenders and children in need of supervision (Hayward, 2004). In such a way, the practice of using juvenile detention centers was rejected and replaced by other programs, which introduced less restrictive measures on the freedom of juvenile offenders and put them into less strict conditions. In this respect, it is possible to distinguish three major pre-adjudication programs juvenile offenders may be involved in, including shelters, holdover programs, and home detention. First, shelters are widely-used and involve the community assistance to juvenile offenders’ detention. In terms of this program, some communities have non-secure, temporary residential facilities intended for children removed from their homes in the initial stages of child protective services investigations or for children who may be picked up by police as status offenders (Reiman, 2006). As for holdover programs, they also aim at securing the position of juveniles. Holdover program requires a room (this might be located in a police station or sheriff’s department, or some other public facility) and someone (either a volunteer or part-time employee) who can provide continuous supervision of a youth for a few hours or overnight pending transportation (Reiman, 2006). Finally, the home detention is another program that may be applied in terms of the pre-adjudication. In actuality, the home

Juvenile delinquency has been a problem in the United States ever since it has been able to be documented. From 100 years ago to now, the process of juvenile delinquency has changed dramatically; from the way juveniles are tried, to the way that they are released back into society, so that they do not return back to the justice system (Scott and Steinberg, 2008). Saying this, juveniles tend to

Juvenile delinquency is of great concern in the United States. In 2007 over 2 million arrests were juveniles. There are two types of juvenile delinquency. The first type of offense is a behavior that would be a criminal violation for an adult. The other offense is called a “status” offense. Status offenses are delinquent actions that do not apply to adults, like running away and truancy. This paper will discuss the impact of gender and family on delinquency and the treatment by gender in the juvenile justice system.

The Juvenile System has been around for a long time. The primary reason behind separating Juvenile from adult criminals is quite simple; the judicial system believes that the children are less culpable for their irresponsive behavior and they could easily be reformed as compared to adult offenders. The crucial role of the judicial system is to critically investigate, diagnose, and recommend treatments for the Juveniles rather than accrediting them. However, because of the increasing number of juvenile arrest for crimes committed by persons considered as a child, the attention that the given to a crime involving juveniles, the decreasing trust to the juvenile system itself and the lauder roar of the society for a safer place to live in,