American juvenile justice system

American juvenile justice system

The American juvenile justice system is the court and prison system in the United States established to try and, if found guilty of an offense, imprison those considered juveniles. Because every state in has its own laws and judicial system, each is slightly different in how it runs its own juvenile justice system.

History

It was established by Jan in 1886 in Chicago as a byproduct of the Progressive Era. Before this, anyone under the age of seventeen who committed a crime was placed in the same system as adults. However, by this time, social views had begun to change. With recent discoveries and research by psychologists, many started to see juveniles as youths who had simply lost their way, rather than as hardened criminals. It was belief that with proper structure and disciplanary guidelines instituted in the youth's life they could be rehabilitated and become productive members of society.

The qualifications for what designates a minor as “juvenile” under the law vary from state to state. In most instances, the system applies to anyone between the ages of seven and seventeen. Anyone younger than seven is not held accountable for their actions. This is called the defense of infancy.

The focus of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate juveniles, rather than imprisoning and punishing them. Many states, such as Massachusetts, have special courts set aside just to try juveniles. Others, such as Colorado, have courts that deal with juvenile cases in addition to regular ones.

In many states, such as Massachusetts, juveniles, upon arraignment, enter a plea of "delinquent" or "not delinquent," rather than "guilty" or "not guilty." The purpose of this is to establish that they are different from a regular criminal.

Unlike normal proceedings, which are almost always open to the public, juvenile courts are usually closed to the public. Juvenile records are often sealed (made so that they cannot be seen), and are sometimes even cleared when the juvenile reaches a certain age (usually eighteen or twenty-one). In Massachusetts, all court records, including juvenile court records, exist forever. Sealing or expunging a juvenile court record in Massachusetts does nothing. The record is still available to law enforcement agencies and the courts. It is common practice (and in some places even a law) for the news media to not report the name of any minor involved in criminal proceedings. Juvenile court cases are usually decided upon by a judge, rather than by a jury.

The juvenile prison system works under the same philosophy as the rest of the justice system, focusing more on rewarding good behavior, rather than punishing bad. Delinquents being held in these facilities are given the opportunity (and usually ordered by the court) to attend schooling and receive their high school diplomas, GED, or even college credits. Many detention centers offer the inmates a chance to have jobs working around the prison, such as being a teacher’s assistant, gardener, or kitchen staff member.

The Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility has a program called Project HEART, which gives inmates the chance to take care of and train dogs that has been abandoned. If the juvenile does a good job taking care of the it, the animal may be set up for adoption through the local humane society.

Drawbacks

However, the system does have its drawbacks. With rising youth violence in the 1980s and '90's killing many people, many states passed stricter laws determining who should be tried under the juvenile justice system. Whereas it was once the decision of the judge, in some states, those charged with certain crimes are automatically tried in superior court, even if they are minors.

In Massachusetts, for instance, any juvenile between the ages of fourteen and seventeen who is charged with first or second-degree murder, any type of gun violation, or any crime relating to gang violence is automatically tried as a youthful offender, which really means that the juvenile is charged as an adult. If convicted, the juvenile will be sent to an adult prison to serve the imposed sentence.

Juvenile detention centers do not always work the way they are supposed to either. Prisoner to prisoner, and guard to prisoner, violence can be just as bad as in adult prisons. Gang fights and riots are not uncommon. In some places, the violence is so bad that inmates may be confined for many months without classes. Allegations of abuse and mistreatment by guards are common.

The U.S. Justice Department filed several suits against several outsourced juvenile facilities in response to recent cases of abuse by guards. Cases of sexual abuse, extreme physical abuse and restraints being uses, and in some cases death. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080302/ap_on_re_us/juvenile_detention]

ee also

*Law of the United States
*California Division of Juvenile Justice
*Age of Consent
*Idaho Juvenile Detention Centers
*Juvenile delinquency

References

External links

* [http://www.onlinelawyersource.com/criminal_law/juvenile/punishments.html More facts and statistics on the American juvenile justice system]
* [http://www.juvenilejusticefyi.com/history_of_juvenile_justice.html A more in-depth history of the juvenile justice system]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • juvenile justice — Introduction       system of laws, policies, and procedures intended to regulate the processing and treatment of nonadult offenders for violations of law and to provide legal remedies that protect their interests in situations of conflict or… …   Universalium

  • Criminal justice system of the Netherlands — Netherlands This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Netherlands …   Wikipedia

  • Comparative juvenile criminal law — Juvenile law is law pertaining to those who are deemed to be below the age of majority. The age varies by country and culture. Usually minors are treated differently under the law. However, even when someone is considered to be a minor they may… …   Wikipedia

  • Comparative Juvenile criminal law — Juvenile law is law pertaining to those who are deemed to be below the age of majority. The age varies by country and culture. Usually minors are treated differently under the law, even when someone is considered to be a minor they may be… …   Wikipedia

  • Juvenile court — A juvenile court or young offender court is a court of law having special authority to try and pass judgments for crimes committed by children or adolescents who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal systems, crimes… …   Wikipedia

  • Juvenile Courts — • Tribunals for the trial of children charged with crimes or offences Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Juvenile Courts     Juvenile Courts      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Juvenile delinquency — This article is about antisocial or illegal behavior by children or adolescents. For the song, see Teenage Crime (song). Criminology and penology Theories Causes and correlates of crime Anomie Differential association …   Wikipedia

  • American Correctional Association — The American Correctional Association (ACA), formerly known as the American Prison Association, is the oldest and largest international correctional association in the world. Approximately 80 percent of all state departments of corrections and… …   Wikipedia

  • American Me — Infobox Film name = American Me caption = Theatrical poster writer = Screenplay: Floyd Mutrux Desmond Nakano Story: Floyd Mutrux starring = Edward James Olmos William Forsythe Pepe Serna director = Edward James Olmos producer = Executive… …   Wikipedia

  • Restorative justice — Criminology and penology Theories Causes and correlates of crime Anomie Differential association theory Deviance …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”