JJ Chapter 25

JUVENILE
JUSTICE:
CHAPTER 10
The Juvenile Court

CHAPTER 10 OBJECTIVES
• List the three classifications of children under juvenile court jurisdiction
• Describe the two factors that determine whether the juvenile court has jurisdiction
• Explain what possible bases for the declaration of wardship are
• Articulate what the three types of juvenile courts are and their purpose
• Analyze the two actions that juvenile courts may take on behalf of children in need
• List the two kinds of intervention available for abused children
• Describe what the juvenile court process generally involves
• Explain who can certify a juvenile as an adult
• Understand the mechanisms that have been created to transfer juveniles to criminal
court
• Articulate what the major concerns are in transferring a juvenile to adult court and
what the results may be
BASIC PHILOSOPHY & PURPOSE OF
JUVENILE COURT
• Philosophy of parens patriae
• Aim of first juvenile court: offer individualized justice and treatment
• Many juvenile court purpose clauses have been amended over the
years, reflecting philosophical or rhetorical changes in their
approach to juvenile delinquency
Balanced and restorative justice
FIVE
CATEGORIES Standard juvenile Court Act clauses
OF STATE
JUVENILE Legislative guide clauses
COURT
PURPOSE Clauses that emphasize punishment,
deterrence, accountability or public safety
CLAUSES
Clauses with traditional child welfare
emphasis
Welfare model – the
approach traditionally used
by juvenile courts following
its underlying parens
WELFARE patriae philosophy
MODEL - focusing on “best interests
VS- of the child.”
Justice model –The judicial
JUSTICE process wherein young
MODEL people who come into
conflict with the law are
held responsible and
accountable for their
behavior
JURISDICTION OF THE JUVENILE
COURT
• Juvenile court jurisdiction refers to the types of cases it can legally
hear.
• Three classification of children courts have jurisdiction over:
• Those who are neglected, dependent, or abused
• Those who are incorrigible, ungovernable, or status offenders
• Those who violate laws, ordinances, or codes classified as penal or criminal
FACTORS DETERMINING JURISDICTION
• State statutes define who is under juvenile court’s jurisdiction
based on two primary factors:
• The offenders age at the time of the crime/incident
• Courts jurisdiction is determined by establishing a maximum age below which
children are deemed subject to the process of the court.
• Generally defined as any individual under 17 years of age.
• The conduct of the juvenile
• An act that if committed by an adult would be a crime
JUVENILE • Juvenile courts in some states may have
COURT jurisdiction over other matters related to
juveniles such as:
JURISDICTION • Adoptions
: • Matters of paternity
OTHER AREAS • Matters of guardianship

JUVENILE COURT TYPES &
CHARACTERISTICS
• Types: Independent and separate courts; part of family
court; unit within a trial court
• Characteristics include:
• Separate hearing for children’s cases
• Informal procedure
• Regular probation service
• Separate detention for children
• Special court and probation records
• Provisions for mental and physical evaluations
• Juvenile courtroom work group
consists of:
Judge
JUVENILE •
• Hearing officers
COURT • Prosecutors
PERSONNEL • Defense attorneys
• Probation officers
COURT ACTIONS FOR NEGLECTED AND
ABUSED CHILDREN
• Events:
• Filing an initial pleading with the court
• Initial hearing (preliminary hearing, detention hearing, etc).
• Most critical stage of the court process
• Review hearing (evaluate progress)
• Permanency hearing
• Return child’s home
• Return date
• Terminating parental rights
• Granting legal guardianship
• Permanently placing child with a relative or foster care
TWO KINDS OF INTERVENTION FOR
DEPRIVED CHILDREN
• Coercive intervention – Out of home placement, detainment or
mandated therapy or counseling
• Therapeutic intervention – A recommendation of an appropriate

treatment program
JUVENILE
COURT • The juvenile court process usually
involves the filing of a petition, a
PROCESS FOR detention hearing, and adjudication
DELINQUENT hearing and a disposition hearing
CASES
JUVENILE
COURT
PROCESS
FLOW
CHART
TRANSFERRING JUVENILES TO
CRIMINAL COURT
• General Criteria for transferring juveniles to adult court:
• Juvenile’s age and criminal sophistication
• Whether the juvenile can be adequately treated or rehabilitated before the
courts’ jurisdiction expires.
• The youth’s previous delinquency history.
• The success of the court’s previous attempts at rehabilitation.
• The seriousness of the alleged offense and amount of harm caused
Judicial waiver
PRIMARY
TRANSFER
Prosecutorial
MECHANISMS discretion
Statutory
exclusions
I S S UES OF COM PET ENCY AND
C ULPAB I LI T Y
Juvenile may not be Culpability
competent to stand trial.
• Adjudicative competence • The argument is that
refers to the ability of an young law violators, by
individual to function virtue of their inherent
effectively as a defendant developmental immaturity,
in a criminal or delinquent simply lack the same
proceeding. degree of
blameworthiness
(culpability), that adult
offender do.
• Juveniles transferred to and
convicted in criminal court have a
high likelihood of:
• Being incarcerated
• Serving longer sentences in adult
CONSEQUENCES prisons than if they had been retained in
OF juvenile court
TRANSFERRING • Being placed in adult facilities
JUVENILES TO • Far greater risk of physical abuse and
A D U LT C O U R T mental abuse.
• Physical abuse
• Sexual assault
• Suicide
• Isolation from prosocial environment
JUVENILES AND CAPITOL PUNISHMENT
• Roper v. Simmons:
• Supreme court ruling (5:4) prohibits capital punishments for offenders who
commit crimes before the age of 18
• This ruling from the Supreme Court came down in 2005.
• Prior to this Supreme Court ruling, some states allowed the death
sentence to be imposed on youth as young as 16 years old
(Stanford v. Kentucky)

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JUVENILE

The Juvenile Court

• Aim of first juvenile court: offer individualized justice and treatment

OTHER AREAS • Matters of guardianship

• Therapeutic intervention – A recommendation of an appropriate

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