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A juvenile delinquent or just a juvenile?
Unless you have been working closely with local lawyers, you may not know how the Juvenile Justice System works. It is important to have a good grasp on this, especially if you have children, so that you can understand how punishment works if a youth were to get into trouble.
The difference between juvenile law and adult law is a matter of mental ability. Since a child’s brain is still developing, and really they develop far beyond the age of 18, the legal system recognizes that a minor may not have a complete understanding of his or her actions. Children don’t always understand the difference screen right and wrong in a moral or ethical sense.
Additionally they do not understand the repercussions of their actions on others and in the future. So as a result of all this, the juvenile courts have different standards of evidence and different modalities of punishment.
If a child is convicted of a crime, the most frequent avenue of so-called punishment is actually rehabilitation. The courts do not want to create a permanent class of criminals. Instead they want to move children away from a life of crime and towards becoming a productive member of society. How successful this is, is open to debate.
The Child Development Institute explains that a child does not have the capacity to reason as an adult until they are around 15 years old.
This means people under this age that commit an offense may not fully understand the consequences of those actions as they engage in harmful or illegal activity. Because of this, the government deals with these people in the Juvenile Justice System. This is separate from the adult justice system and is designed to distribute punishments that take their development level into account.
The juvenile justice system is a section of the judicial branch and deals only with juvenile criminals and their victims. Based on state laws, a juvenile is any youth that is at or below the upper age or jurisdiction in that state – this translates to anyone under the age of 18. Judges, police, lawyers, child advocates, social workers, detention offices, and community program leaders and volunteers are all a part of this particular system. In a lot of states, the upper age of jurisdiction for juveniles is 17, but some states have this age as low as 15.
Other states have no minimum age for trying a person as an adult, so people go through the adult system instead of the juvenile system regardless. All states have the right to make exceptions depending on the nature of the offense.
It has been stated that around 30 percent of juvenile offenders are referred to alternative programs instead of going through the court – they receive referral usually at the discretion of the arresting officer, but they may also receive referral from parents and other family members because members of this particular system believe the youth need guidance and resources as much as discipline to prevent them from having future offenses.
The basic procedures for trying a juvenile vary by state, but all states go through the same basic process. This includes an arrest or referral, filing of charges, informal processing, formal processing, adjudication, and entry into placement, aftercare, or probation programs.
The probation programs are critical for keeping up with the child and making sure that he or she is not devolving into a life of crime. With a probation officer checking in periodically, the hope is that the observation as well as early interposition of an authority figure can nip any problems in the bud before they blossom into full-fledged crime. Recidivism studies have shown that this is not 100% effective. It’s not even 50% effective. But at the moment it is the best solution that we have.
If you know a youth that has been in trouble and are looking for advice on how to deal with the issue, you may want to contact local law firms in your area to learn more about the specific laws in your area in regards to juveniles and the options that you may have depending on his or her offense.
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