1. Chapter 5: The Juvenile Court
Juvenile Justice in America, 5th Edition ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Bartollas/Miller Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

2. Outline How Have Legal Norms Changed?
Kent v. United States
In re Gault
In re Winship
McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, In re Terry, and In re Barbara Burrus Breed v. Jones
How Is the Status Offender Controlled?
Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders
Jurisdiction over Status Offenders

3. Outline (cont.) What Does the Juvenile Court Look Like Today?
Judge
Referee
Defense Attorney
Prosecutor
Probation Officer
Nonjudicial Support Personnel
What Are the Pretrial Procedures of the Juvenile Court?
Detention Hearing
Intake Process
Transfer Procedure
Plea Bargaining

4. Objectives
To present the development and legal norms of the juvenile court
To explore the main U.S. Supreme Court decisions that incorporated the due process movement into juvenile court proceedings
To discuss the intake stages of juvenile court’s proceedings
To examine social control of the status offender

5. 1. What is parens patriae?

6. Parens patriae was formalized by ex parte Crouse in 1838 and gave the courts a legal basis for intervening in the lives of children.

7. 2. Discuss Kent v. United States.

8. Hints: Original Charge: Housebreaking, Robbery and Rape.
Due process rights: Disregarded due process rights when transferring Kent to adult court.
Judge’s failings:
Did not discuss case with Kent or his parents
Made no reference to motions filed by Kent’s attorney
Ignored reports regarding Kent’s mental condition.

9. Supreme Court rulings:
Appeal:
Kent’s counsel appealed to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court rulings:
Kent had right to a transfer hearing in which evidence was presented.
Right to be present at the hearing
Attorney had right to see social service reports.
Judge had to state reason for the transfer.

10. 3. Discuss In re Gault.

11. Hints (pp. 128–130): State industrial school Lewd and indecent remarks
Appeal on what rights apply to juveniles. Results?

12. Due process rights that were established:
Right to receive notice of charges
Right to be represented by counsel
Right to confront and cross-examine witnesses.
Right to avoid self-incrimination
Right to receive a transcript of the proceedings
Right to request appellate review.

13. Issue left unanswered by the court:
May a judge consider hearsay in juvenile court?
Does the exclusionary evidence principle derived from the Fourth Amendment apply?
Is a jury trial required?
Does the requirement of a “speedy and public trial” apply in juvenile court?

14. 4. Discuss In re Winship.

15. Facts of the case:
A New York boy was sentenced to a state training school for taking $112 from a woman’s purse.
At the time, New York courts were allowed to determine guilt based on a preponderance of the evidence.

16. In re Winship declared that juveniles are entitled to proof “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Findings in the Winship case not only expanded the implications of In re Gault, but also reflected other concerns of the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Preponderance of the evidence” was an insufficient standard for act that would be criminal if committed by an adult.

17. 5. What decision was reached by McKeiver v
5. What decision was reached by McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, In re Terry, and In re Barbara Burrus?

18. Hint (p. 131): Denied the right of juveniles to have jury trials
Not all rights that are constitutionally assured for adults are to be given to juveniles.
Jury trials would make the process to adversarial and contravene the intimate, informal, and protected environment of juvenile court.

19. Jury trials are not necessary as long as every part of the process is fair and equitable.
Jury trials could force delays.
The Supreme Court did not prevent individual judges or states from establishing jury trials for juveniles.

20. 6. What are at least three different categories of offenses that youths can be charged with?

21. First, they can be charged with a felony or misdemeanor by federal, state, and local statutes.
Second, they are subject to relatively specific statutes applying exclusively to juvenile behavior.
Third, juveniles can be prosecuted under general omnibus statutes, which include engaging in immoral conduct, acting beyond the control of parents, and being ungovernable and incorrigible.

22. 7. What were the four positions concerning the deinstitutionalization of status offenders?

23. First, researchers have raised real doubt about the policy of confining status offenders with delinquents.
Second, other researchers have questioned whether status offenders are innocent youths who are much different from delinquents.
Research has shown that many delinquents start out as status offenders and then progress to delinquent acts.
Heavy and lightweight juvenile offenders commit both criminal and status offenses.

24. Third, juvenile judges have resisted this deinstitutionalization movement in some states.
In order to maintain jurisdiction, some judges reclassify some status offenses as criminal offenses.
Fourth, what served as the real impetus for a nationwide deinstitutionalization of status offenders was the passage of the 1974 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act and its various modifications.
Required states to separate status offenders and delinquents in order to receive funding for juvenile justice programs.

25. 8. What are the arguments concerning who should have jurisdiction over status offenders?

26. First, the legal argument states that the lack of clarity of the status offender statutes makes them unconstitutionally vague in their construction.
Second, although status offenders have not committed a criminal act, they frequently are confined with chronic or hard-core offenders.
Third, in keeping with the parens patriae philosophy of the juvenile court, the procedure of processing and confining the status offender is not in his or her best interests.
Fourth, many charge that status offenders are a special class of youth that must be treated differently from delinquents.

27. 9. Who are the courtroom players? Describe their roles.

28. Hints (pp. 135–139): Judge Referee Defense attorney Prosecutor
Probation officer
Nonjudicial support personnel

29. Juvenile Judge
To ensure that the systems that detect, investigate, resolve, and bring cases to court are working fairly and efficiently
To set juvenile justice standards within the community and within the criminal and juvenile justice systems
To make certain that there are an adequate number of attorneys of satisfactory quality to represent juveniles in court

30. To know how cases that do not reach the juvenile court are being resolved
To monitor the progress of the child, family, and the supervisory agency to make certain that each complies with the terms of the court’s orders
To be an advocate within the community on behalf of children and their families
In some communities, to oversee the juvenile probation department and court staff

31. Role of the Referee
Referees generally have a fundamental grasp of juvenile law, some basic understanding of psychology and sociology, and even some experience or training in social work.

32. Describe at least three roles of defense attorneys in juvenile courts.

33. Defense Attorney Hints (pp.137–138): Role of the Defense Attorney:
An adversarial advocate for the child
A surrogate guardian or parents to the child
An assistant to the court with responsibilities to the children

34. Prosecutor
The prosecutor is expected to protect society and, at the same time, to ensure that children appearing before the court are provided with their basic constitutional rights.

35. What are some of the responsibilities of probation officers?

36. Probation Officer Hints (pp. 138–139):
Responsibilities of the Probation Officer:
Act as intake officer
Assess the needs of youths
Write predisposition reports
Supervise youths in probation and aftercare

37. 11. What are the pre-trial procedures of the juvenile court
11. What are the pre-trial procedures of the juvenile court? Describe each stage.

38. Hints (pp. 139–144): Detention hearing Bail for children
Preventive detention
Intake process
Informal sanctions
The transfer process

39. Detention Hearing
The original purpose of the detention hearing was to hold children securely until intake personnel reviewed the case and made a decision.
Typically, detention hearings are held within 48 to 72 hours.

40. Detention Hearing can occur at 3 points:
When the youth in taken into custody by the police.
During and after the time intake personnel review the case to decide whether to refer the case to juvenile court.
After the adjudication hearing.

41. Four types of detention exists:
Shelter care for those without a home…non-restrictive.
Jail: undesirable for juveniles.
Detention home: most physically restrictive.
In-home confinement.

42. Bail for Children Bail is not a form of punishment
Purpose is to ensure that the defendant will show up at his/her adjudicatory hearing.
Eight Amendment of the Constitution states that bail will not be excessive.
In ex parte Crouse, the Supreme Court ruled that the Bill of Rights didn’t apply to children.
Some states don’t allow bail, some do.

43. Preventive Detention
The Supreme Court in Schall v. Martin ruled that preventive detention served a legitimate state objective of protecting both the juvenile and society from the hazards of pre-trial crime.

44. Issues regarding preventive detention:
Laws typically aren’t enforced unless someone has actually committed a crime.
Detention is punitive
Incarceration before a finding of guilt raises questions.

45. Intake Process Purposes of the intake process:
Determine whether a child needs the help of the juvenile court.
Controls the use of detention.
Reduces the court’s caseload.
Keeps inappropriate cases out of the juvenile court.
Directs juveniles to appropriate community agencies.

46. Intake decisions: Does the case fall under their jurisdiction?
If not, intake personnel must decide if the case is dismissed or referred to an appropriate social service agency or adult court.
Does the youth require secure detention?

47. Case Dismissal
A case could be dismissed by an intake officer for any of the following reasons:
The incident is not an offense under the state’s code.
Case is weak
Youth is repentant
First-time offense
Youth’s parents seem concerned and promise to seek help for the youth.

48. Informal Adjustment
Often used with status offenses or minor offenders.
Youth may be required to pay restitution, or
Referred to local diversion bureau.

49. Informal Probation
In the case of informal probation, a youth is released back into the community, but must accept certain conditions that are spelled out by the court.

50. Consent Degree
A consent degree requires that a child to agree to fulfill certain conditions in spite of the fact that he or she has not been found guilty.