UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

36
STREET LAW UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice

Transcript of UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

Page 1: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

STREET LAW

UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice

Chapter 16

Juvenile Justice

Page 2: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 3: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 4: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 5: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

Today, juvenile courts generally handle three groups of juvenilesdelinquent 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

Page 6: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 7: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 8: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 9: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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?

Page 10: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 11: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 12: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 13: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 14: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

communityWhether the offense was committed in an aggressive,

violent, premeditated, or willful mannerWhether the crime was committed against a person or

propertyThe likelihood that the complaint would lead to

indictment

Page 15: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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 anyThe prospects for adequate protection to the

publicThe likelihood of successful rehabilitation

Page 16: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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?

Page 17: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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 courtIn most states, young people are considered

juveniles if under the age of 18However, some states set the age limit at 16 or 17In most states, a juvenile charged with a serious

felony can be tried as an adult

Page 18: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 19: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

Although there has been a decline in the number of status offenders in institutions, females disproportionately outnumber males by a 10-to-1 ratioSome 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

Page 20: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 21: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 22: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

Juveniles, like adults, must be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubtHowever, not all of the procedures used in an

adult court are appropriate for juvenile courts

Page 23: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 24: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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 sanctionsFor 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

Page 25: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

Also, for violent & serious offenses, juveniles are now receiving mandatory minimum sentences

Some states now have sentencing guidelines that proscribe narrow limits for dispositions

Page 26: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

Critics of these changes think the new laws are motivated by an inaccurate view of the extent of juvenile crimeThey say that juvenile crime is decreasing, not

increasingThey also believe these reforms are not good for

kids & that they undermine the goals of rehabilitation upon which the juvenile system is based

Page 27: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

One such debate concerns whether juveniles should be ordered to pay restitution to victims or the crimes they committedSome 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

Page 28: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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 proceedingsThey say the “spirit & promise” of the Gault

decision has been largely unfilled

Page 29: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 30: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 31: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

Disproportionate Minority Confinement Disproportionate minority confinement is a

concern in the adult criminal justice system as well as in the juvenile justice systemAccording 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

Page 32: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 33: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 34: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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 programsNationally, 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)

Page 35: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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

Page 36: UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice Chapter 16 Juvenile Justice.

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