The Juvenile Justice System

1
The Juvenile Justice System

• Outline of Topics
• What is the Juvenile Justice System?
• What does it do and what does it look like?
• How is it different from the criminal justice
  system?
• How did the system develop historically?
• What variations have been tried and why?
• What changes are currently being made?
• How is it set up and how does it work?
• In the U.S. generally? (note fairly wide
  variations)
• In Illinois specifically?

2
What is the Juvenile Justice System? (cont.)

• Juvenile law has broader reach
• Neglected children (lacking proper protection
  care)
• Wayward children (lacking proper control
  discipline)
• Delinquent children (violating the criminal law)
• Categories 1) 2) refer to minors in need of
  supervision i.e., status offenders
• Subject to forceful state intervention not
  applied to adults
• Includes non-criminal behaviors
• Not necessarily a specific act, but to a pattern
  of activity
• Category 3) refers to a child whose action
  violates the criminal law i.e., delinquents
• The violation would be a crime if committed by
  an adult
• These are sometimes called juvenile criminals

3
Fig. 15-1, p. 425
4
What is the Juvenile Justice System?

• Juvenile Justice is concurrent with distinct
  from Criminal Justice System
• Jurisdiction belongs to one or the other but not
  both
• May be transferred from one to the other
• Exception to this strict separation blended
  sentences
• Juvenile Justice has its own separate court
  procedures (but not necessarily separate courts,
  detention, probation offices)
• Juvenile has its own correctional services (which
  should also be physically administratively
  separate from CJS, but not always)

5
What is the Juvenile Justice System?

• Juvenile Justice is set up on Benevolent
  Intervention Model (in the best interests of the
  child) rather than Adversarial-Punitive
• What seem to be the same procedure may be called
  by different names in Juvenile and Criminal
  Justice systems
• The Juvenile systems is intended to be more
  informal, more parental, less confrontational
  and legalistic
• Juvenile-Adult separation was maintained through
  much of 20th century however, several
  conflicting trends exist
• Recent court decisions and legislative enactments
  have greatly reduced and blurred this difference
• In 2007, juvenile justice looks much more like
  the criminal justice system than it did in 1967

6
What is the Juvenile Justice System?

• Comparing events and terms
• Arrest same for juveniles and adults - except
  status offenses (not called arrests in the
  latter)
• Formal Complaint Intake Screening
• Arraignment Initial Appearance
• Formal Charging (Information or Indictment)
  Petition
• Plea Bargaining (for lesser charges)
  Adjustment
• Trial Adjudicatory hearing (or fact-finding
  hearing)
• Sentencing Dispositional hearing
• Conviction Adjudicated delinquent (not found
  guilty)
• Confinement Residential placement
• Parole Aftercare

7
What is the Juvenile Justice System?

• More Comparisons
• Juveniles adjudicated delinquents have NOT been
  convicted of a crime (even if they murdered
  someone)
• They do not have a criminal record from this
  verdict
• They cannot be punished in adult corrections (??)
• If juveniles are waived or transferred to adult
  criminal court they are treated like an adults,
  except for detention and initial part of sentence
• They are effectively treated as smaller adults
• Important exception not eligible for a death
  sentence
• Waiver/transfer is permanent in many states

8
What is the Juvenile Justice System?

• Note that overall procedures seem similar in form
• Apprehending suspected violator/offender
• Making an initial complaint
• Initial screening/review of complaint
• Formal charging of offender
• Adjudicating the charges (to reach a verdict or
  decision)
• Sentencing the offender to an appropriate
  correction
• However, they are called by different names and
  given slightly different legal meanings

9
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• Separate Juvenile Justice system is relatively
  recent development
• Pre-19th Century
• 19th Century
• 20th Century
• 21st Century?

10
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• Separate Juvenile Justice system is relatively
  recent development
• Pre-19th Century
• Except for very young (lt 6 yrs) children adults
  were treated the same in law violation
• Increasing attention to neglected, abandoned,
  unsupervised children as persons in need of
  protection training
• Poor Laws place children in work houses and
  indentured servitude
• Parens Patriae assume state as parent of all
• Gradually recognize child as separate status

11
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• 19th Century Increased Social Welfare activism
• Social Gospel movement application of religion
  to improvement of human suffering
• Progressivism belief in the state as benign
  force for social improvement
• The Child Savers movement focused on neglected
  and abandoned children
• Reflect a mixture of motives goals
• View children is not-fully-formed persons
• Separate children from adults in institutions

12
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• 19th Century (continued)
• Houses of Refuge take in wayward children
  provide training
• Reform Schools correctional institutions with
  education programs
• Training Schools correctional institutions with
  occupational programs
• Note while the motives were charitable and
  benevolent, the institutions were usually harsh
  and punitive

13
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• 19th Century (continued)
• Note a key legal development
• Ex Parte Crouse (1938) formalized the parens
  patriae doctrine and applied it specifically to
  children
• Elements of ex parte Crouse
• Purpose of juvenile institution reform not
  punish
• Formal due process not necessary in this case
• When parents unable to control or protect
  children, the state as parens patriae must step in

14
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• 19th Century (continued)
• Key development the Juvenile Court as a
  separate legal institution for handling both
  wayward and criminal children
• First formal, comprehensive juvenile court
  implemented in Illinois in 1899
• Became the model almost all states followed in
  the next several decades
• Juvenile court was set up on different
  philosophical framework than criminal court
• Stress rehabilitation/reform not punishment

15
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• 19th Century (continued)
• The Illinois Juvenile Court Act of 1899
• Created a special Criminal Court
• No juries - only judges (acting in childs
  interest)
• Different terminology to reduce punitive stigma
  of criminal proceedings
• Non-adversarial relationship with emphasis on
  beneficent correction rather than punishment
• Confidential proceedings off-the record not
  open to the public

16
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• 20th Century
• National expansion of the juvenile court and
  juvenile corrections during first half of 1900s
• By 1940s all states had separate juvenile systems
  set up along lines of the Illinois system
• By 1960s juvenile and criminal systems were at
  maximal separated
• Note Separation was substantial but not total
• Separate procedures but not separate facilities
• Still some combining of juvenile and adult
  justice for practical and political reasons

17
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• 20th Century (continued)
• Latter half of century brought considerable
  changes
• Some of which enhanced the separation
• Many of which diminished the separation in
  various ways
• These dramatic conflicting changes reflected
  two main developments
• Due Process legal revolution of 1960s
• Conservative ideological shift of 1970s

18
20th Century Development of JJ

• Important Legal Decisions changes
• 1966 (Kent v. U.S.) ? right to counsel in
  transfer case
• 1967 (in re Gault) ? the critical case
• Affirmed basic due process rights for juveniles
  (notice of charges counsel confront witness
  self-incrimination)
• 1970 (in re Winship) ? proof beyond reasonable
  doubt
• 1971 (McKeiver v. Penn.) ? no absolute right to
  jury
• 1975 (Breed v. Jones) ? no double jeopardy
• 1979 (Fare v. Michael C) ? right to Miranda
  protection
• 1984 (Schall v. Martin) ? allowed prevention
  detention
• 1985 (New Jersey v. TLO) ? school searches O.K.
  even if no reasonable suspicion of law violation
• 1995 (Vernonia Sch Dist) ? drug testing of
  athletes
• 2005 (Roper v. Simmons) ? no death penalty lt 18

19
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• 20th Century (continued)
• Along with the legal decisions have been a number
  of legislative changes
• Lowering the age of criminal culpability
• 24 states have NO lower age limit
• 2 states set the lower limit at 10 years
• 7 states set the lower limit at 12 or 13 years
• 17 states set lower limit at 14 or 15 years
• (see the next slide for U.S. distribution)

20

Figure 14.2 The Minimum Age at Which a Juvenile
Can Be Tried as an Adult
Fig. 14-2, p. 371
21
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• 20th Century (continued)
• Along with the legal decisions have been a number
  of legislative changes
• Lowering the age of culpability
• Increasing the transfer of juveniles to adult
  court through waiver procedures

22
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• 20th Century (continued)
• Use of waivers to transfer juveniles to criminal
  court for trial punishment
• Automatic (statutory) waiver set by
  legislature no judicial discretion limited to
  specific crimes (15 states)
• Judicial waiver decided by the judge at the
  judges discretion (with guidelines) (46 states)
• Prosecutorial (concurrent jurisdiction) (direct
  file) Waiver initiated by the prosecutor (15
  states)
• Presumptive (reverse) Waiver set by
  legislature, but with judges discretion to
  transfer back to juvenile (15 states)

23
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• 20th Century (continued)
• Use of waivers to transfer juveniles to criminal
  court for trial punishment
• Most juvenile waivers are for violent crimes but
  also for property, drug, or public order crimes
• States vary in the ages at which waivers are
  legally allowed (refer back to the map)
• In 34 states the juvenile waivers are permanent
  (once an adult, always an adult)
• Standard of proof mostly preponderance of the
  evidence

24

Felony Arrest Charges for Juveniles Transferred
to Adult Court
Fig. 14-4, p. 375
25
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• 20th Century (continued)
• Along with the legal decisions have been a number
  of legislative changes
• Extending correctional control of juveniles
  through blended sentence provisions
• Juvenile Blended sentencing (15 states)
• Criminal Blended sentencing (17 states)
• Opening juvenile hearings and records to public

26
Development of Juvenile Justice?

• 20th Century (continued)
• Along with the legal decisions have been a number
  of legislative changes
• Lowering the age of culpability
• Increasing the transfer of juveniles to adult
  court through waiver procedures
• Extending correctional control of juveniles
  through blended sentence provisions
• Opening juvenile records to public
• The impact of all of these is to lessen special
  status of juvenile

27
The Juvenile Justice System

• How is it set up and how does it work?
• In the U.S. generally?
• In Illinois specifically?

28
(No Transcript)
29
(No Transcript)
30
Correctional Programs for Juveniles

• Three general types of dispositions are
• Dismissal of the case (used in a small percentage
  of cases).
• Community-based programs
• Juvenile institutions.

31
Community-Based Correctional Programs for
Juveniles

• Allowing youths to maintain existing ties with
  the community and develop new and positive ones
  with the community
• Among the community-based correctional programs
  for juvenile offenders are
• Diversion.
• Probation.
• Restitution
• Outdoor Adventure Probation
• Day Treatment program
• Foster care.
• Group home placement.

32
Probation

• Probation is the most frequently used
  correctional response for youths who are
  adjudicated delinquent in juvenile courts.
• Recent trend in juvenile probation is the
  development of intensive supervision (probation)
  programs, which in some jurisdictions involve
  home confinement

33
Restitution

• In practice, there are three types of
  restitution
• Monetary restitution The youth pays cash to the
  victim for harm done.
• Victim-service restitution The youth provides
  some service to the victim.
• Community-service restitution The youth provides
  assistance to a community organization.

34
Wilderness Probation (Outdoor Adventure) Programs

• Wilderness probation programs involve youths in a
  physically and sometimes emotionally challenging
  outdoor experience intended to help them
• Develop confidence in themselves.
• Learn to accept responsibility for themselves.
• Develop a relationship of trust with others.
• Evaluations of such programs have shown some
  positive effects
• Temporary effects which are similar to other
  probation programs

35
Day Treatment Programs

• Day treatment programs provide treatment or
  services during the day and allow youths to
  return home at night.
• It is believed that they are
• Cost-effective.
• Effective at protecting the community.
• Can provide a range of services.

36
Foster Homes

• Foster homes are out-of-home placements intended
  to resemble, as much as possible, a family
  setting.
• It is usually used by a court when a youths home
  life has been particularly chaotic or harmful.
• Research has not proven foster placement to be
  effective, and it may be counterproductive.

37
Group Homes

• Group homes are open, nonsecure community-based
  facilities used either as an alternative to
  incarceration or to help youths transition to
  home.
• Group homes are generally larger than foster
  homes, less impersonal than institutions, and
  less expensive than institutional placements.

38
Institutional Programs for Juveniles

• The most restrictive placements available to
  juvenile courts.
• A variety of correctional facilities house
  juveniles within the United States
• Detention centers.
• Adult jails.
• Shelter facilities.
• Reception and diagnostic centers.
• Ranches.
• Forestry camps.
• Farms.
• Training schools.

39
Juvenile Correctional Institutions

• Juvenile correctional institutions vary
• May be either public or private.
• Many are small less than 40 residents some
  house as many as 800 residents.
• Some are co-ed.
• Detention centers and diagnostic centers are
  designed for short-term stays.
• Farms, ranches, forestry camps, and trainings
  schools are for long-term placements.
• Types of programming and quality of care vary
  widely.

40
Juvenile Correctional Institutions

• Historically, juveniles in institutions have been
  subjected to abuse and inhumane conditions.
• Today, the overall quality of institutions has
  improved, but many of the problems still exist
• Lack of adequate living space.
• Security practices that result in injuries to
  residents and escapes.
• Inadequate health care.
• Inadequate mechanisms for controlling suicidal
  behavior.

41
Recent Trends in Juvenile Incarceration

• Recent trends in juvenile incarceration are
• Its increased use (at least until recently).
• The use of both public and private facilities.
• The disproportionately large percentage of males
  and racial or ethnic minorities that are
  incarcerated.
• The increasing number of juveniles being
  incarcerated in local adult jails and state
  prisons.
• Juvenile correction change with shifts in public
  and political attitudes (more than for adults)