social safety net
Government programs that provide for people in need.
New York House of Refuge
An early juvenile reformatory established by New York State in 1824 that was to become the model for most juvenile reformatories.
indenture agreements
Agreements whereby employers would supervise youths in exchange for their labor.
parens patriae
The legal assumption that the state has primary responsibility for the safety and custody of children.
original jurisdiction
The concept that because juvenile court is the only court that has authority over juveniles, they cannot be tried, for any offense, by a criminal court unless the juvenile court grants permission for an accused juvenile to be waived to a criminal court.
waiving
Granting permission for an accused juvenile to be moved from juvenile court to criminal court.
juvenile court
A court that handles juvenile welfare cases and cases involving status offenders and delinquents; some juvenile courts handle additional matters related to the family.
status offender
A child who has committed an act or failed to fulfill a responsibility for which, if he or she were an adult, the court would not have any authority over him or her.
delinquent
A juvenile accused of committing an act that is criminal for both adults and juveniles.
juvenile superpredator
A term used by the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention to describe a juvenile who commits violent felony crimes
Kent v. United States
A 1961 Supreme Court case that marked the departure of the Supreme Court from its acceptance of the denial of due process rights to juveniles
In re Gault
A case in which the Supreme Court provided due process rights to juveniles, including notice of charges, counsel, right to examine witnesses, and right to remain silent.
In re Winship
A case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the reasonable doubt standard, the same used in criminal trials, should be required in all delinquency adjudications.
burden of proof
The standard required for adjudication.
McKeiver v. Pennsylvania
A case in which the Supreme Court denied juveniles the right to a trial by jury.
Breed v. Jones
A case in which the Supreme Court ruled that once a juvenile has been adjudicated by a juvenile court, he or she cannot be waived to criminal court to be tried for the same charges.
Schall v. Martin
A case in which the Supreme Court upheld the right of juvenile courts to deny bail to adjudicated juveniles.
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974
An act that provides the major source of federal funding to states for the improvement of their juvenile justice systems, services, and facilities.
waiver
The process of moving a juvenile from the authority of juvenile court to the adult criminal justice system.
statutory exclusion
The provision that allows juveniles to be transferred to criminal court without review by and approval of a juvenile court.
blended sentencing option
An option that allows the juvenile or criminal court to impose a sentence that can include confinement in a juvenile facility and/or in an adult prison after the offender is beyond the age of the juvenile court’s jurisdiction.
juvenile intake
The process whereby a juvenile enters the juvenile justice system.
juvenile intake officer
A person who is responsible for processing a juvenile into the juvenile justice system and seeing to aftercare if the juvenile is adjudicated; this person has duties similar to those of a police officer and a probation and parole officer.
life history
An assessment by the juvenile intake/probation officer of the juvenile and his or her past behavior, living conditions, behavior of parents/guardians, and school behavior.
consent decree
A written summary of the specific conditions and requirements to be placed on the child and/or parent(s) or guardian by the juvenile intake officer.
juvenile adjudication hearing
The formal hearing held by a juvenile judge to conduct an inquiry of the facts concerning a case and to decide the disposition of the case and any rehabilitation, supervision, or punishment for the juvenile.
delinquency petition
A request to a judge to hear and judge a juvenile case in a formal hearing to determine whether the juvenile is to be declared delinquent.
teen courts
Courts for younger juveniles (aged 10 to 15) with no prior arrest record who are charged with less serious law violations wherein juvenile peers rather than adults determine the disposition.
juvenile drug courts
Alternatives to the traditional adjudication process for juveniles with substance abuse problems that focus on rehabilitating the juveniles and eliminating drug abuse.
adjudicated
Determined the disposition of the charges against the juvenile and the treatment or punishment options, done by the juvenile judge.
ward of the state
A person for whom the state assumes responsibility for his or her health and well-being.
juvenile boot camp
A military-style group-oriented rehabilitation program designed to alter the character and values of the juvenile offender.
Roper, Superintendent, Potosi Correctional Center v. Simmons
A case in which the Supreme Court held that the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit use of the death penalty on offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed.
Graham v. Florida
A case in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that juveniles tried as adults cannot be sentenced to life in prison without parole for nonhomicide offenses.
Miller v. Alabama
A case in which the U.S. Supreme Court extends the ban on sentences of life without parole for juveniles guilty of homicide offenses.
youth gangs
Difficult-to-define juvenile groups distinct from adult gangs that mimic adult gangs.
hybrid gangs
A new type of youth gang with distinctive characteristics that differentiate them from traditional gangs; they are frequently school based, less organized, less involved in criminal activity, and less involved in violence than the traditional gangs.
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE)
A popular in-school antidrug program initiated by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1983 but abandoned when data failed to support its effectiveness
contain-and-wait
A law enforcement strategy for responding to shootings at schools and colleges in which perimeter security is established and law enforcement officers negotiate with the shooter.
active-shooter
A law enforcement strategy for responding to shootings at schools and colleges in which the first officers on the scene seek and find the shooter and neutralize him or her.
bullying
Making physical and/or psychological threats or abusing or tormenting another person.
zero-tolerance policies
School disciplinary policies that provide for mandatory disciplinary actions for any and all violations of school rules regardless of the student or circumstance.
school-to-prison pipeline
School disciplinary policies that increase the likelihood of suspended and expelled students dropping out of high school and having contact with the juvenile justice system.
child protective services (CPS)
A government agency responsible for the health and welfare of children.
Federal Kidnapping Act (Lindbergh Law)
An act that made it a federal offense to transport a kidnapping victim across state lines.
1996 federal sex offender registry
A database of convicted sex offenders who are required to register with law enforcement; the registration data are available to the public.
Amber Alert system
A system that provides law enforcement with the ability to notify the public of a missing or abducted child through media, technology, and social networks.
Caylee’s Law
A law that requires parents and/or guardians to report missing children in a timely manner.
strict liability crime
A criminal act that does not require the prosecutor to prove mens rea, or criminal intent, by the perpetrator in order to prosecute.
Zero Tolerance Policy=
School to Prison pipeline
Know the movie
In the Colonial American Courts, treatment of youthful offenders varied in the interpretation of the ability for youth to form mens rea. Discuss and describe this ability as interpreted by the courts for children under 7, children 7-14, and children over 14.
Under 7–child does not have ability to form mens rea (guilty intent) and cannot be held accountable for any crime; 7-14–capacity to form mens rea was a rebuttable defense, prosecution would have to prove the capacity for mens rea and defense could present evidence against the capacity to form mens rea.
Compare and contrast the state juvenile court system to the criminal court system.
Juvenile – Adult, rehabilitation (primary goal to juvenile) – sanctions (used against offender), prevention (focus on risk factors of family and environment) – prevention (generalized activities and aimed at deterrence), law enforcement (confidentiality and specialized courts) – law enforcement (open public access), intake (social service model, court is guardian of defendant) – prosecution (adversarial system), detention – jail/lockup, adjudication – conviction, disposition – sentencing.
Discuss and describe the juvenile justice system processing steps for offenders from the arrest to the release.
Intake, intake screening (review case), release potentially, juvenile court, diversion (placed in residence based on offense, criminal history, age, family situation), adjudication hearing (judge questions child), disposition hearing (plan of action discussed), statutory exclusion (allows transfer to adult system), delinquency petition (judge hears to determine if juvenile is delinquent), waiver, probation, detention, residential facility, aftercare (parole).
Violence and bullying on school campuses across the country has become a nationwide issue. Discuss several of the strategies and school programs that are being used today. Select the one you feel will work best and explain why.
discuss the issues of violence, school shootings and bullying. Strategies that should be discussed include police officers in schools, bans on cell phones, transfer to juvenile court and suspensions and expulsions.
Match the Juvenile Justice System term with the corresponding adult criminal court stage. A) Jail or lock-up B) Prosecution C) Sentencing D) Conviction
Intake
Detention
Adjudication
Disposition
B
A
D
C
Bill 260
Would allow youth tried as adults to have a chance for parole after 15 years
Jarad
200 years for 4 attempted murders; 160-life after court sentencing
Darrell
15 years in adult prison
Antiono
90-life for 2 counts of attempted murder
Juan
2 life sentences; attempted murder and 1st degree murder