Criminal Courts and Law Ch 5

Juvenile

Juvenile

Young person who has not yet attained the age in which here or she is treated as an adult by for purposes of court

Poor law (1601)

Based on idea on that people were so poor they couldn’t help themselves

Status offense

Act or conduct that is declared by statute to be offense only if committed by juvenile

What did the poor law do for children?

Provided work or apprenticeships for children who’s parents couldn’t provide for them

Chancery courts

English courts created in 15th century by the lord high chancellor to address cases that could not be decided in other common law courts

Parens Patriae

Doctrine that allowed Crown to replace natural family relations when a child’s welfare is at risk

Child Savers (1850-1850)

Group of reform-minded individualized in the U.S. that sought to improve the living conditions of poor urban children

Refuge Movement (1825)

Created the New York House of Refuge

New York House of Refuge

First juvenile reformatory in America that opened Jan 1, 1825 where typical inmates day consisted of labor

Juvenile Court (1899)

Founded in Illinois with sole purpose was to deal with a person under 16 years of age

Early juvenile court

Focused on best interest of providing individualized decisions that were in best interests interests of children instead of punishment

United States Supreme Court legal protections

Children were encouraged to admit guilt and standard of proof was a preponderance of evidence

Kent v. United States (1966)

Courts must provide the essentials of due process in transferring juveniles to adult system

In re Gault (1967)

In hearings that could result in commitment to an institution, juveniles have four basic constitutional rights

In re Winship (1970)

In delinquency matters, the state must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt

McKeiver v. Pennsylvania (1971)

Jury trials are not constitutionally required in juvenile court hearings

Breed v. Jones (1975)

Waiver of juvenile to criminal court following adjudication in juvenile court constitutes double jeopardy

Oklahoma Publishing Co. v. District Court (1977) and Smith v. Daily Mail Publishing Co. (1979)

The press may report juvenile court proceedings under certain circumstances

Eddings v. Oklahoma (1982)

Defendant’s youthful age should be considered a mitigating factor in deciding whether to apply the death penalty

Schall v. Martin (1984)

Preventive pretrial detention of juveniles is allowable under certain circumstances

Thompson v. Oklahoma (1988) and Stanford v. Kentucky (1989)

Minimum age for death penalty is set at 16

Roper v. Simmons (2005)

Minimum age for death penalty is set at 18

Graham v. Florida (2010)

Life imprisonment for juveniles convicted for non-homicide offense is unconstitutional

Miller V. Alabama (2012)

Mandatory sentences of life without parole are unconstitutional, regardless of offense

Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act 1968 (JDPCA)

Legislation encouraged states to develop community-level plans to prevent juvenile delinquency and approved programs received federal support

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act 1974 (JJPDA)

Legislation created new entities and was responsible for key reforms

Juvenile court priorities

Variation in the set up of juvenile courts comes from legislative priorities of the juvenile justice system

Balanced and restorative justice approach

Emphasizes public safety, individual accountability, and offender services

Standard Juvenile Court Act

Children coming within juvenile courts shall receive the care, guidance, and control that will conduce to his welfare and best interest of state

Legislative Guide for Drafting Family and Juvenile Courts

To provide for care, protection, and wholesome mental and physical development children involved and to substitute program of supervision, care, and rehabilitation

Stand-alone juvenile courts

Courts with their own administration, staff, judges, and other personnel

Family courts

Adjudicate juvenile cases in dedicated family courts with jurisdiction over divorce, custody, alimony, adoption, etc.

General jurisdiction courts

Majority of states have opted to process juvenile cases here, sometimes have a court division of superior court

Intake

First step in decision making regarding if a juvenile’s case should enter the system or be terminated

Detention

Juvenile may be held in a detention facility for fairly serious crime but must have a hearing with 24 hours

Judicial decision

Juveniles case will either be decided to be adjudicated or waived to adult court by the court

Adjudicatory hearing

Fact-finding process by which the juvenile court determines whether there is sufficient evidence to sustain allegations in a petition

Disposition plan

Document that includes recommendations concerning juveniles education, training, counseling, and support services needs

Graduated sanctions

First-time offenders who commit minor offenses are treated leniently and those who repeat have harsher sanctions

Legislative exclusion

Refers to fact that a statute excludes a juvenile from being tried as a juvenile

Discretionary waiver

Gives juvenile court judges discretion to waive jurisdiction in cases involving minors to allow prosecution in adult criminal courts

Presumptive waiver

Statutory designation of a category of cases in which waiver to criminal courts is presumed to be appropriate but may be rebutted by defense

Mandatory waiver

Requires case to meet certain age, offense, or criteria to be waived to adult court

Concurrent jurisdiction

Legislative authority to try juvenile cases in either juvenile or adult court

Offense-based sentencing

Practice of sentencing a juvenile based on the severity of his or her crime rather than following the traditional practice of juvenile based on need for treatment

Blended sentence

Requires juvenile to serve both a term of probation and time in adult correctional facility

Extended jurisdiction

Legislative authority for juvenile court judges to commit juvenile to correctional facility beyond age of 18

Indiana attempts to follow a "________" approach of emphasizing public safety, individual accountability, and offender services.

Balanced and restorative justice

In Thompson v. Oklahoma, the Supreme Court concluded it would be cruel and unusual punishment to execute a juvenile who committed a capital crime when he was 15 years old. They reached the opposite conclusion in which case?

Stanford v. Kentucky

Approximately what percent of juvenile cases result in the detention of the juvenile in the early phases of the justice process?

20%

Which step in the juvenile justice process involves an adjudicatory hearing and the preparation of a disposition plan?

Judicial decision