1. Chapter Five
Juvenile Courts

2. Introduction
The Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act defines a juvenile as a person who has not reached 18 years of age
Some states will treat 15, 16 and 17-year-olds as adults
The juvenile justice system emerged in response to concerns about treating juveniles as adults

3. The Development of Care for Children
Poor Laws
Reflected an increasingly compassionate attitude toward the poor
Helped provide work or apprenticeships for orphaned children and children whose parents could not support them
Children were essentially forced into indentured worker conditions until adulthood

4. The Development of Care for Children
Poor laws also set up tax collection schemes
Precursors to modern welfare systems
The strong colonial work ethic was reflected in all poor laws
If you received assistance, you should contribute to the community through work

5. The Development of Care for Children
Chancery Courts
Created in the 15th century to address cases that could not be decided in other common-law courts
Applied principles of equity rather than law
Issued decisions based on fairness
Frequently heard cases of minor children
e.g. would exercise jurisdiction over infant heirs who lost their parents

6. The Development of Care for Children
One of the original guiding principles of chancery courts was parens patriae
Allowed the Crown to replace natural family relations when a child’s welfare was at risk
Suggested that government can, and should, intervene in family affairs when the need arises
Still serves as the core principle of the juvenile justice system
e.g. Brittany Spears and Kim Delaney

7. The Creation of American Juvenile Justice
The Child Savers ( )
Groups who sought to improve the living conditions of poor urban children
Functions included providing shelter and education
Charles Loring Brace and the Children’s Aid Society
Felt that poor and vagrant children should be placed with farm families
Some evidence children basically became laborers, however, there were some success stories

8. The Creation of American Juvenile Justice
The Refuge Movement
The New York House of Refuge (1825) became the first juvenile reformatory
The concept caught on and similar institutions emerged
The children who lived in these facilities worked, learned trades, and received basic education
Conditions were poor and discipline harsh, but these Houses were significant to the development of juvenile justice

9. The Creation of American Juvenile Justice
The Juvenile Court
The Illinois Juvenile Court Act of 1889 established the first court to deal with delinquent children under the age of 16
By 1925, 46 states, three U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia had juvenile courts
In the early years they were focused on providing individualized decisions in the best interests of the children
Relied on parens patriae

10. The Creation of American Juvenile Justice
Legal Protections
Rather than being protected by the 5th Amendment, children were frequently encouraged to plead guilty
Standard of proof was a “preponderance of evidence” versus proof beyond a reasonable doubt
Made it easier to hold juveniles accountable

11. The Creation of American Juvenile Justice
Beginning in the 1960s, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a number of important cases that dealt with juveniles legal rights. Some examples:
Kent v. United States
In re Gault
The Lasting Impact of In re Gault
Breed v. Jones
Thompson v. Oklahoma and Stanford v Kentucky
Roper v. Simmons
The Lasting Impact of Roper v. Simmons

12. The Creation of American Juvenile Justice
Figure 5-1 Timeline Of Supreme Court Decisions Dealing With Juveniles

13. The Creation of American Juvenile Justice
Federal Legislation
1968 Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act (JDPCA)
Encouraged states to develop community-level plans
Replaced by the 1974 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA)
Created several new entities including:
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
The Runaway Youth Program
The National Institute for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (NIJJDP)

14. The Creation of American Juvenile Justice
The JJDPA was also responsible for some key reforms:
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 (the Act) establishes four custody related requirements.
The deinstitutionalization of status offenders and nonoffenders requirement (1974) specifies that juveniles not charged with acts that would be crimes for adults “shall not be placed in secure detention facilities or secure correctional facilities.” This requirement does not apply to juveniles charged with violating a valid court order or possessing a handgun, or those held under interstate compacts.
The “sight and sound separation” requirement (1974) specifies that “juveniles alleged to be or found to be delinquent and [status offenders and nonoffenders] shall not be detained or confined in any institution in which they have contact with adult inmates” in custody because they are awaiting trial on criminal charges or have been convicted of a crime. This requires that juvenile and adult inmates cannot see each other and no conversation between them is possible.

15. The Creation of American Juvenile Justice
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 (the Act) establishes four custody related requirements. (continued)
The “jail and lockup removal” requirement (1980) states that juveniles shall not be detained or confined in adult jails or lockups. There are, however, several exceptions. There is a 6-hour grace period that allows adult jails and lockups to hold delinquents temporarily while awaiting transfer to a juvenile facility or making court appearances. (This exception applies only if the facility can maintain sight and sound separation.) Under certain conditions, jails and lockups in rural areas may hold delinquents awaiting initial court appearance up to 48 hours. Some jurisdictions have obtained approval for separate juvenile detention centers that are colocated with an adult facility; in addition, staff who work with both juveniles and adult inmates must be trained and certified to work with juveniles.
Regulations implementing the Act exempt a juvenile held in secure adult facilities if the juvenile is being tried as a criminal for a felony or has been convicted as a criminal felon. Regulations also allow adjudicated delinquents to be transferred to adult institutions once they have reached the state’s age of full criminal responsibility, where such transfer is expressly authorized by state law.

16. The Creation of American Juvenile Justice
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 (the Act) establishes four custody related requirements. (continued)
In the past, the “disproportionate minority confinement” (DMC) requirement (1988) focused on the extent to which minority youth were confined in proportions greater than their representation in the population. The 2002 Act broadened the DMC concept to encompass all stages of the juvenile justice process; thus, DMC has come to mean disproportionate minority contact.
States must agree to comply with each requirement to receive Formula Grants funds under the Act’s provisions. States must submit plans outlining their strategy for meeting these and other statutory requirements. Noncompliance with core requirements results in the loss of at least 20% of the state’s annual Formula Grants Program allocation per requirement.
As of 2005, 56 of 57 eligible states and territories were participating in the Formula Grants Program. Annual state monitoring reports show that the vast majority were in compliance with the requirements, either reporting no violations or meeting de minimis or other compliance criteria.

17. Juvenile Courts Today: Priorities, Organization & Process
Juvenile Court Priorities
Some states follow a “Balanced and Restorative Justice” approach
Emphasizes public safety, individual accountability and offenders services
Others follow the “Standard Juvenile Court Act”
Emphasizes care, guidance and control of the youth that will “conduce to his welfare and the best interest of the state”

18. Juvenile Courts Today: Priorities, Organization & Process
Others follow the Legislative Guide for Drafting Family and Juvenile Courts, which list four purposes of juvenile courts:
Provide care, protection and wholesome mental and physical development
Offer a program of supervision, care and rehabilitation
Remove a child from a home for their welfare or in the interests of public safety
Assure all parties their constitutional and other legal rights

19. Juvenile Courts Today: Priorities, Organization & Process
Stand-Alone Courts
Found in relatively few states
Have their own administration, staff, judges and other personnel
Family Court
Have jurisdiction over several types of cases including divorce, child custody and child support

20. Juvenile Courts Today: Priorities, Organization & Process
General Jurisdiction Court
Majority of states have opted to process juvenile cases in these courts
Complications arise when states pass laws and enact new courts that adjudicate juvenile cases or have juvenile courts dedicated to specific types of cases
Courts in the News: Cyberbullying

21. Juvenile Courts Today: Priorities, Organization & Process
Four main steps: intake, detention, judicial decision and judicial disposition
Figure 5-3: Juvenile Court Processing for a Typical 1,000 Delinquency Cases

22. Juvenile Courts Today: Priorities, Organization & Process
Intake
A decision is made whether a case should enter the juvenile justice system
80% of cases are referred by police officers
A number are also referred by parents, victims, school officials and probation officers
If referred to the intake department, a case will either be petitioned or non-petitioned
Request action or authorization of action from the court, or handled informally (i.e.placement or probation)

23. Juvenile Courts Today: Priorities, Organization & Process
Detention
Usually occurs when a juvenile is arrested for a fairly serious offense
A hearing must be held within 24 hours of detention
Approximately 20% of juvenile cases result in detention of the juvenile

24. Juvenile Courts Today: Priorities, Organization & Process
Adjudication
Assuming the case is not waived to adult court, an adjudicatory hearing is held
Evidence and testimony are heard
There are no juries, a judge determines if the juvenile should be adjudicated
The hearing can result in a dismissal of the petition, a “continuation in contemplation of dismissal”, or adjudication
Cases that result in adjudication requires staff to prepare a disposition plan

25. Juvenile Courts Today: Priorities, Organization & Process
Judicial Disposition
The juvenile justice system has at its core a set of graduated sanctions
If the juvenile is an adjudicated delinquent, a treatment program will be assigned based on his or her “needs and deeds”
Can include fines, restitution, community service or participation in drug treatment
More serious offenders are placed in secure juvenile detention facilities

26. Treating Juveniles as Adults
Juvenile courts have always had mechanisms in place for transferring juveniles to adult court
Figure 5-5 state legal arrangements governing treatment of juveniles as adults

27. Treating Juveniles as Adults
Legislative Exclusion
Also called statutory exclusion
Refers to the fact that a statute excludes a juvenile from being tried as a juvenile
Requires certain juveniles to be treated as adults
e.g. Mississippi excludes all felonies committed by 17-year-olds

28. Treating Juveniles as Adults
Waivers
Juvenile waiver refers to trying juveniles as adults (“waiving” them to adult court)
Three main types of waivers:
Discretionary waivers gives judges discretion to waive jurisdiction in individual cases involving minors
Presumptive waivers require the juveniles to bear the burden of proof in the waiver hearing
Mandatory waivers involve cases in which the juvenile meet certain age, offense or other criteria

29. Treating Juveniles as Adults
Concurrent Jurisdiction
Means that certain cases can be tried in both juvenile and adult court
The Prosecutor determines where the case should be tried
Courts in the News: Court Rulings are Consistent on Video Game Violence

30. The Changing Landscape of Juvenile Justice
Increased Sanctioning
Juvenile sentences are more punitive than ever before
For example, many states allow offense-based sentencing
Can include the use of so-called blended sentences that require probation along with time in an adult correctional facility
Some states also allow extended jurisdiction that allows juvenile court judge to extend a sentence beyond the age of 18

31. The Changing Landscape of Juvenile Justice
More Accountability
An increase in the courts handling of cases (formal) signals a movement toward increased accountability
States are also changing laws affecting how juvenile cases are screened
e.g. In 1977 Washington state ceased to rely on probation officers for screening and left filing decisions totally in the hands of prosecutors

32. The Changing Landscape of Juvenile Justice
Less Privacy
Juvenile court records have historically been “off limits”
Some states have begun to relax restrictions on access to juvenile records
Court records are also disclosed more readily
e.g. Central record repositories, data systems, sex offender registries
Some states have increased the period of time before juvenile records are expunged