UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice STREET LAW

In the United States, juveniles who break the law are treated differently than adults However, this has not always been the case In earlier times, children were housed in the same jails as adults Long prison terms and corporal punishment were common, & some children were even sentenced to death

Today, there is a separate juvenile system for juvenile offenders, although in some cases juveniles can still be tried as adults Sentencing options for juvenile offenders range from counseling & probation to time spent in juvenile correctional facilities

Introduction and History and Overview of Juvenile Courts Reformers in the mid-1800s believed that parents' failure to teach their children proper values & respect for authority led to juvenile delinquency Therefore, the reformers proposed a separate juvenile court system to assume parents' responsibility & discipline juvenile offenders This separate court sought to rehabilitate, or help juveniles make better decisions, rather than punish

Today, juvenile courts generally handle three groups of juveniles delinquent offenders, or youths who have committed acts that would be crimes if adults had committed them status offenders, or youths who have committed acts that would not be crimes if committed by adults and neglected & abused children

Juvenile Justice & Drugs The National Institute of Justice in the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) attempted to determine the relationship between drug use, sales, & other criminal activities among juveniles The study found that heavy drug users were significantly more likely than non-users to commit burglary, deal in stolen goods, drive under the influence, & carry a concealed weapon

Drug sellers were significantly more likely than non-sellers to use a weapon to threaten someone, commit robbery, deal in stolen goods, individually attack & injure another youth, & commit burglary Drug users were more likely than sellers to be involved in property crimes, while sellers were more likely than users to commit crimes against persons

Should juvenile drug users & sellers be more, less or equally entitled to rehabilitation efforts than adults who fit the same profile?

Juvenile or Adult? A 16 y.o. who is accused of skipping school? A 15 y.o. who is accused of assaulting a classmate? A 14 y.o. who is accused of committing murder? A 9 y.o. who is accused of committing murder? An 11 y.o. who is accused of committing rape? A 13 y.o. who is accused of shoplifting in a dept. store?

Waivers After a juvenile is taken into custody, he or she may be released, referred to youth court, or sent to juvenile court All states allow juveniles, under certain conditions, to be tried as adults by way of 1 or more transfer mechanisms Since the early 1990s, nearly every state has modified its laws to make it easier to prosecute juveniles in adult court Legislatures also added many offenses for which juveniles could be tried in adult court & lowered the age at which certain juveniles could be tried in adult court

One of the more common changes gives prosecutors the option of filing charges in adult courts instead of juvenile courts Many defense attorneys & judges disagree with the way this shifts the decision from the judges to prosecutors

There are 3 types of waivers: A legislative waiver sends the youth to adult court based on certain objective criteria set by the state legislature A prosecutorial waiver gives the prosecutor the discretion on how to charge the youth A judicial waiver is the traditional method of allowing a judge to use subjective criteria in making the decision

Studies have shown that youths charged as adults suffer more physical abuse in jail & have a higher recidivism rate than those similarly charged in juvenile court The minimum age for waiver to adult courts has been lowered to 14 in some states

In the case of Kent v. United States, the U. S In the case of Kent v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court suggested 9 factors for determining whether to use a transfer: The seriousness of the offense & protection of the community Whether the offense was committed in an aggressive, violent, premeditated, or willful manner Whether the crime was committed against a person or property The likelihood that the complaint would lead to indictment

Whether or not associates were being charged in adult court The sophistication & maturity of the child with respect to his or her home environment, emotional attitude, & pattern of living The child’s previous record, if any The prospects for adequate protection to the public The likelihood of successful rehabilitation

Some say that today’s juvenile justice laws place the burden on juveniles to prove that they can benefit from the protections of the juvenile court, thereby undermining the purpose of the juvenile court Do you think the trend toward waiving juveniles has led to a reduction in crime or made it more or less likely that those young people will re-offend?

Who Is a Juvenile?   Almost all states set age limits to determine whether a person accused of a crime will be handled in an adult or juvenile court In most states, young people are considered juveniles if under the age of 18 However, some states set the age limit at 16 or 17 In most states, a juvenile charged with a serious felony can be tried as an adult

Status Offenses   Juveniles who are considered status offenders are generally charged with being "beyond control" In addition to truancy, status offenses include running away from home, violating curfew, refusing to obey parents, & engaging in certain behaviors such as underage consumption of alcohol or drugs

Although there has been a decline in the number of status offenders in institutions, females disproportionately outnumber males by a 10-to-1 ratio Some people try to claim that the courts try to play the role of father & are therefore more restrictive of female behavior Others point to the obvious biases in laws governing juveniles

Still others claim that females are simply more likely to commit status offenses, while males more often commit delinquent acts While there is a focus on persons in need of supervision (PINS), a large portion of the work of juvenile courts involves children in need of assistance (CINA) For example, if a runaway can prove that he or she has been abused or neglected at home, several forms of assistance may be available This is a major reason why the juvenile justice system has a different focus than the adult system

Juvenile Justice Today The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that juveniles charged with delinquent acts are entitled to many of the same rights as adults charged with a crime This includes the right to be notified of the charges against them, the right to an attorney, the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses, and the right to remain silent

Juveniles, like adults, must be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt However, not all of the procedures used in an adult court are appropriate for juvenile courts

Juvenile Court Reform Even setting the discussion of waivers aside, the perspective of those who want to get tough on crime has influenced changes for young people who stay within the juvenile system Many critics of indeterminate sentencing claim that juveniles get off easy for violent crimes & commit crimes knowing that the punishment is relatively light

This perspective has resulted in the revision of juvenile codes in a number of states, resulting in dramatic shifts in dispositional, or sentencing, practices Serious & violent juvenile offenders are receiving blended sentences in which they get both juvenile & adult sanctions For instance, juveniles may spend a portion of their confinement in a juvenile institution & then be transferred to an adult institution upon reaching a certain age, such as 18

Also, for violent & serious offenses, juveniles are now receiving mandatory minimum sentences Some states now have sentencing guidelines that proscribe narrow limits for dispositions

Critics of these changes think the new laws are motivated by an inaccurate view of the extent of juvenile crime They say that juvenile crime is decreasing, not increasing They also believe these reforms are not good for kids & that they undermine the goals of rehabilitation upon which the juvenile system is based

One such debate concerns whether juveniles should be ordered to pay restitution to victims or the crimes they committed Some juvenile courts have restitution programs & some require juveniles to meet face-to-face with their victims Over 30 states have instituted “boot camps” designed to teach youth offenders self-discipline & respect for the law, but the results have been mixed & abuses of authority have been reported

The ABA Juvenile Justice Center, as well as numerous child legal advocacy groups, have also raised concerns about juveniles’ access to quality legal representation in delinquency proceedings They say the “spirit & promise” of the Gault decision has been largely unfilled

A study by the ABA focused in Maryland, but intended to serve as a nationwide model, identifies the following concerns: Poor children do not have equal access to counsel because they often waive their right to counsel w/o understanding the significance of doing so For those poor respondents who do exercise their right to counsel, it is not offered at every step of the juvenile process, which undermines the case of the child

The majority of youths in detention were incarcerated w/o effective representation Many attorneys representing young people aren’t adequately prepared to help their clients in transfer (waiver) hearings a well as in hearings about delinquency & disposition (sentences) Minorities are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system Girls present unique issues in the juvenile courts because the rehabilitation services typically provided for charges they commonly face (nonviolent offenses, status offenses, & parole violations) are often proven ineffective

Disproportionate Minority Confinement Disproportionate minority confinement is a concern in the adult criminal justice system as well as in the juvenile justice system According to a Dec. 1999 report by the U.S. Dept. of Justice, the overrepresentation of African American juveniles occurs at all stages of the juvenile justice process

While African American juveniles were involved in 39% of crimes reported by victims, they accounted for a disproportionate share of violent crime arrests (44%) & confinement (45%) in 1996-1997 Latino youths are also overrepresented in detention facilities, & racial minorities as a whole accounted for 70% of youths held in custody for violent offenses

The U.S. Dept. of Justice further reports that minority offenders are held in residential placement longer than other juveniles & that disproportionate minority confinement often stems from disparity at early stages of case processing

The 2003 report “And Justice for Some” by Building Blocks for Youth, a coalition of groups who advocate policies to protect minority youths & to improve juvenile justice policies, revealed the following trends: African American youths are under-represented in treatment programs Nationally, the average length of stay for Latino youths in a public facility for a drug offense is double the length of stay for white youths (306 days vs. 144 days)

Hispanic youths with no prior juvenile commitments who are charged with drug offenses are 13x more likely to be assigned to locked custody than white youths African American youths with no prior commitment record are 48x more likely to be assigned to locked custody than white youths with similar records

Juvenile Court Records Is it “right” or “just” or “fair” that juveniles don’t have criminal records? Although juvenile delinquents do not have a criminal record, their juvenile record can follow them into life For a person to be eligible to have a juvenile record expunged, most states require that several years have passed since the offense & that the person not have committed any further offenses during that time