Juvenile Justice System

Posted by Winnie Melda on November 2nd, 2018

    The administration of juvenile justice has undergone shifts for efficiency purposes. The treatment of children in the judicial system has undergone examination and reevaluation by the Supreme Court of the United States.  One of the most held positions is that children have an entitlement to similar due process rights enjoyed by adults. The Supreme Court has also held that developmentally, juveniles differ from adults. This has significantly impacted the way courts treat juveniles in the whole justice areas (Benekos & Merlo, 2008). This includes aspects such as waiver of rights, punishment as well as culpability. There are many major Supreme Court’s jurisprudence cases that have shaped juvenile justice system.
    For instance, the In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967) presents a turning point decision for juveniles rights in Courts. This is the first case which past that juvenile facing delinquency prosecution has the majority of similar legal rights as that of adults in court. This includes the right to legal representation, the right to notice of the charges, right to remain silent as well as the right to a full hearing based on case merits.  Another example is Kent v. U S, 383 U.S. 541 cases of 1966.  In this case, the court ruled that juvenile courts do not have unlimited parens partial power. In this case, the court has no entitlement of acting with procedural arbitrariness. The Supreme Court also ruled that the decision to waive a juvenile to adult court needs providing the juvenile with the necessary due process (Benekos & Merlo, 2008). This included a hearing, effective counsel assistance as well as a statement of reasons for the particular decision. The other case that shaped juvenile justice system is the In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358 cases of 1970. In this case, the US Supreme Court held that in delinquency adjudications, the standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt.  In this respect, local labels, as well as good intentions, do not obviate the necessity of criminal due process safeguards in the juvenile justice. Hence, many Supreme Court rulings have helped to shape the juvenile justice system.
Procedural requirements of the juvenile vs. adults’ justice system
    The procedural requirements for juvenile justice system differ from that of adults. When juveniles commit offenses, they are detained and not arrested. After detention, a petition is drawn outlining the jurisdictional authority of children's court over the offense and arrested persons (Mody, 2008).  This is followed by giving notice for reasons for court appearance which serves as notice to the juvenile’s family.  The notice is also used as an official charging document. Juveniles and adults are treated differently regarding procedural requirements.
In the courtroom, the juvenile cases are adjudicated with a disposition being handed down. Additionally, records from juvenile courts are always sealed. This is entirely different from adult’s records from the fact that adult’s records are accessible by any person under the Freedom of Information Act (Hinton, Sims, Adams & West, 2007).  Similar to diversion, this process is aimed at to protecting juvenile to ensure that one offense does not follow the child for life.  The other difference is that juvenile court and criminal records can be expunged upon attaining the eighteenth birthday so long as the juvenile meets particular conditions, particularly good behavior. Additionally, Juvenile criminal procedure is less formal when compared to court procedure for adults.

References
Benekos, P., & Merlo, A. (January 01, 2008). Juvenile Justice. Youth Violence and Juvenile     Justice, 6, 1, 28-46.
Hinton, W., Sims, P., Adams, M., & West, C. (January 01, 2007). Juvenile Justice. Criminal     Justice Policy Review, 18, 4, 466-483.
Mody, S. (December 01, 2008). Juvenile Justice. Childhood Education, 85, 2.)

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