The Legal Age Of Juvenile Justice

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Juvenile justice is the area of criminal law applicable to persons not old enough to be held responsible for criminal acts (Juvenile Justice. (n.d.). Retrieved September 3, 2014)[1]. A “crime” is any act or omission of an act in violation of a public law forbidding or commanding it (Criminal Law. (n.d.). Retrieved September 3, 2014)[1]. The legal age limit for who is considered to be juvenile varies from state to state, although many states have set the legal age limit at 18. Once a child has reached the age of 18 they can no longer be considered a minor and/or juvenile. The purpose and goal of the juvenile court system is to rehabilitate minors as opposed to punishing them.

The Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act of 1972 aids and…show more content…
When deciding upon whether a state wants to retain jurisdiction, it does not merely constitute that it is deciding to wash its hands of the individual involved in the case. Jurisdiction poses three main questions whose answers determine if the case remains in the state courts jurisdiction: 1. Does the state have jurisdiction over the person? 2. Is there jurisdiction over the subject matter being explored? 3. Does the state have the jurisdiction to determine the judgment sought?[1]

On both sides of a legal argument involving a minor, many families view jurisdiction only in terms of age. When better understood, it easier to see why certain cases are not retained in the juvenile court system, but rather relinquished to the federal court system.
Depending on the severity of the crime, a child can be tried as an adult and sentenced to adult prison. The controversy in these verdicts, however, is based upon not including judgment of each individual child on his or her own history. Simply viewing a crime without attaching the history of a defendant to them can make for an extremely distorted view of the offender, minor or otherwise.

ABC News reports that, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
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