Juvenile Crime Ephrem Larry CJS/200 01/12/14 William Patton

In this essay I am going to address the differences between juvenile court and adult court. I am also going to talk about the definitions of delinquency and status offenses. I will briefly describe the variables that correlate to the juvenile crime rate and make recommendations for reducing juvenile crime. There are several differences between juvenile court and adult court. “According to the Department of Juvenile Services (2014) History of Juvenile Justice in the United States,” from a historical perspective the juvenile court systems is relatively new. It was stated that in the late 1960‘s that youth did not have constitutional rights. In 1967 the U. S. Supreme Courts ruled that even though juvenile courts were civil proceeding, individuals subjected to these proceedings still faced potential loss of liberty. The Supreme Court ruled that all youth offenders in juvenile court proceedings that faced possible confinement have the following constitutional rights: The right to receive notice of charges, The right to obtain legal counsel, The right to confrontation and cross – examination, The privileges against self – incrimination, The right to receive a transcript of the proceedings, and The right to have an appellate court review the lower court’s decision (The Department of Juvenile Services , 2014). However, many of these juvenile courts vary from state to state. One difference between juvenile court and adult court is one’s constitutional rights. In the adult court of law, the adults have the constitutional right to have their case heard, and tried by a judge, or a jury of their peers. Sometimes when an adult commits their first crime or a petty crime, they are let off the hook. Sometimes the adult is given probation, or