America’s Courts and the Criminal Justice System: Juvenile Courts

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the history, organization, jurisdiction, and legal processes of the American juvenile justice system based on Chapter 4 of America’s Courts and the Criminal Justice System.

Child Savers

A group associated with the Progressive Movement who believed children are not bad but are products of their environment, leading to the development of the juvenile court system.

Parens Patriae

A legal doctrine meaning "state as parent" which emerged as Progressives began to see children as having less-developed moral and cognitive capacity than adults.

Juvenile Court Characteristics

Proceedings that are informal, secret, based on civil law, and focused on helping the child without a jury trial.

Adult Court Characteristics

Proceedings that are formal, open to the public, based on criminal law, and focused on punishment with the right to a jury trial.

CASA Program

A program where representatives advocate for children in the juvenile justice system.

Juvenile Delinquency

Acts that would be crimes if committed by adults, including theft, burglary, sale or possession of drugs, and criminal damage to property.

Status Offenses

Acts that are only illegal for juveniles, such as running away, truancy, possession of alcohol, ungovernability, and curfew violations.

Children In Need of Supervision

Child-victims who suffer from neglect, dependency, abandonment, or a lack of education and medical care.

One-pot Jurisdiction

A situation in juvenile justice where youths who commit serious crimes, status offenders, and deprived children are all processed within the same legal framework.

Upper Age of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction

The maximum age for original jurisdiction over delinquency matters, which is most commonly $18$, but can be $15$, $16$, or $17$ depending on the state.

Lowest Age of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction (North Carolina)

Age $6$.

Lowest Age of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction (AZ, AR, CO, KS, LA, MN, MS, PA, SD, TX, VT, WI)

Ages ranging from $8$ to $10$; specifically, Arizona is $8$ and the others listed are $10$.

Judicial Waiver

A method of transferring a juvenile to adult court for prosecution based on a judge's decision.

Reverse Waiver

A corrective mechanism that allows a case to be sent back from adult court to juvenile court.

Blended Sentencing

A sentencing mechanism that combines both juvenile and adult court sanctions.

Petitioned Case

A juvenile case that is formally charged and handled through the court system, occurring in approximately $55\%$ of the estimated $1,058,500$ delinquency cases.

In re Gault

A landmark Supreme Court case involving a $15$-year-old in Arizona that established due process requirements for juveniles, including the right to notice, counsel, and protection against self-incrimination.

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974

An act that mandated the deinstitutionalization of status offenders and required that juveniles charged with criminal acts not be jailed with adult inmates.

Hearing Officers

Members of the courtroom work group who assist judges in juvenile court proceedings.

Probation Officers

Key players in the juvenile courtroom work group responsible for monitoring and assisting youths.

Adjudicatory Hearing

The step in the juvenile court process that functions as the trial where evidence is heard and a determination of delinquency is made.

Disposition

The stage in the juvenile court process where the court decides the appropriate sanction or treatment for the juvenile.

Crime Control Model (Future View)

A perspective advocating for more adult penalties and potentially the abolition of the juvenile court system.

Due Process Model (Future View)

A perspective advocating for youth crime prevention, rehabilitation, and the use of teen or youth courts as alternatives.