Civics & Economics – Goals 5 &6 Juveniles and Juvenile Courts

Cases of Juvenile Delinquency Anyone under age 18 is considered a juvenile Our legal system treats young people who commit crimes, called juvenile delinquents differently from adults All states and the federal government allow older juveniles who are charged with very serious crimes or already have criminal records to be tried as adults

The Juvenile Justice System When juveniles are charged with violating the law, their cases are handled in separate courts, called juvenile court Their primary goal is to rehabilitate- or correct a person’s behavior, rather than punish the person

The Juvenile Justice System Most juvenile court cases begin when police make an arrest; others result from petitions to the courts that have been filed

Neglect and Delinquency Juvenile courts handle two types of cases: cases of neglect involve juveniles whose caregivers neglect or abuse them Delinquency cases involve juveniles who commit crimes Dept. of Social Services

Neglect and Delinquency Juvenile courts also handle cases in which juveniles perform acts that are illegal for juveniles but not for adults such as running away or violating curfew

Diversion or Detention? Most police departments have officers who handle juvenile cases; they have authority to divert juveniles away from court and into special programs The emphasis is on rehabilitation rather than punishment; the juvenile system offers counseling, job- training and drug-treatment programs to which young people can be diverted

The Trial Juveniles are not entitled to a jury trial; the judge alone makes the determination as to whether the juvenile is delinquent; cases are closed to the public The juvenile court system keeps offenders’ identities and criminal records secret; they are not fingerprinted or photographed when arrested

The Trial If a juvenile is found delinquent, or guilty, the court holds another hearing equivalent to sentencing Juvenile court judges can sentence offenders in a number of ways: they can send them home with a stern lecture, or place offenders with a previous history in a special training school, reformatory, treatment center, or teen shelter

The Trial If a young person successfully completes probation, the charges will be dropped and removed from the record Juveniles who are neglected may become wards of the court; the court becomes their guardian and can supervise them to adulthood

Supreme Court Rules The Supreme Court has established several rules for juvenile criminal cases Juveniles have the same or similar rights as adults accused of crimes: the right to counsel, the right to confront witnesses, and the right not to be forced to incriminate themselves These rights were established by the 1967 In re Gault Court case