Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice Failure of family a

Chapter 16: Juvenile Justice

• Failure of family a cause of delinquent behavior. • Families had failed to teach proper values and respect for authority.

• Solution to failure of family: • Separate juvenile court to assume the responsibility that had been the family’s job. • Instead of punishing young people through adult system, a separate juvenile court would seek to REHABILITATE juveniles by teaching morals and learning community values.

• First Juvenile Court: • Cook County, Illinois, 1899 • Juvenile courts were designed to be informal, allowing the court to act as parent/guardian of child.

• Parens Patriae: • “Parent of the country. ” • Courts assumes role of a parent and was permitted to do whatever it thought necessary to help the child.

• Three groups of juveniles: 1. Delinquent offenders: youths who have committed acts that would be crimes if committed by adults. 2. Status offenders: youths who committed acts that would not be crimes if committed by adults (CURFEW)

3. Neglected and abused children: need the courts protection from parent or guardian. § Neglect Case: occurs when a parent or guardian is charged with failing to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care.

• An abuse case, occurs when a child has been sexually, physically, or emotionally abused.

• In both, neglect and abuse cases, a judge must decide whether the child needs the protection of the courts. • Courts must determine whether the child should remain with the family while under court protection

• In both neglect and abuse cases: • Judge works closely with social service agencies. • Judge usually sets certain conditions for the child to remain with his or her family, such as participation by the parents in a counseling program or a later hearing to monitor the progress of the case. • Judge may also decide to place the child with relatives or in foster care.

• Juvenile age of maturity: Can prosecute in adult court: • Most states is 18. • Some states is 16 or 17 • Illinois: 18 years old

• Humanitarian philosophy -Emphasizes rehabilitating the offender • Control philosophy – emphasizes punishing the defender.

STATUS OFFENSES

• Status Offenders: Offenders • Youths who commit cases which are not crimes for adults – drinking alcohol under age 21 • Most are runaways or have drug problems (alcohol/drugs) • Face charges such as: “beyond control” and “habitually disobedient, ” or truant from school.

• Status Offenders (Continued) • Some are trying to escape abusive or difficult home situations.

Programs for runaways: • Primary resource for runaway and homeless youth is a national network of shelters. (1800 -RUNAWAY) or www. 1800 RUNAWAY. org

• Status offenses make up 20% of all juvenile arrests. • As a general rule, a single act of unruly behavior is not enough to support a finding that a juvenile is in need of court supervision; rather, juvenile must be habitually disobedient or has repeatedly run away, skipped school, or been out of control

PINS (person in need of supervision) • Because of problems at home, parents sometimes ask the courts to file a PINS – petition against their child.

PINS (person in need of supervision) • Children can defend their conduct by showing their act was justified or the parent were unreasonable and at fault. • If child is correct, the PINS petition might be withdrawn by the court and replaced by a neglect petition against the parent

Juvenile Justice Today

Problems with Juvenile court system in the 1960 s. • Many people argued that the system was providing harsher treatment that the adult system without the constitutional rights provided in adult courts.

Solution to problems with Juvenile Court System: • In 1966, the U. S. Supreme Court handed down several decisions which began to change theory and operation of the juvenile justice system.

The Gault Decision • Gave young people many of the same rights as adults

In re Winship (1970) • A juvenile charge with a criminal act must be found “delinquent by proof beyond a reasonable doubt, ” the same standard required in adult criminal court.

• Mc. Keiver v. Pennsylvania (1971) • The Court decided that jury trials were not required in juvenile cases. • It expressed concern that jury trials could hurt juveniles by destroying the privacy of juvenile hearings.

• The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974: 1974