...Juvenile and Adult Crimes CRJS300 By Erika.Esquer1 American InterContinental University Abstract This essay will focus on specialized juvenile justice’s cases, particularly in the cases of Mrs.I’s son who was arrested for driving without a license and crashing into a storefront. How the lawyer will respond to Mrs. I. What steps the lawyer will take to defend Mrs. I’s son and opinion of the judge and how the judge would sentence the case. Introduction There have been numerous cases of car theft and careless driving in United States. With effective criminal justice in US, these felonies have not failed to be punished. The judgment on these cases has seen most culprits get confined to a maximum of six years. Statistics show that most of the culprits of these crimes are adults, with adolescents being responsible for only a small fraction of the incidents. The penalties for committing these crimes are clear and the jurors have not hesitated on imposing them on the misdemeanors. Whilst most people accept the penalties inflicted on such culprits, there are numerous questions raised on how courts handle juveniles involved in such crimes. Should these youngsters face penalties similar to adults? Judges should determine if juveniles should be treated equally as adults when arbitrating on cases where adolescents commit crimes similar to adults, particularly on the case of Mrs.I’s son. The son of Mrs. I who is 15-years old was apprehended by law enforcers after he was found...
Words: 1329 - Pages: 6
...Juvenile Justice; Don’t Send The Future Away The day I got locked up was a bad day. When I got out i thought it was over not knowing it’s a whole court system I had to go through. I was 16 at the time so I got tried as an adult. I sign my plea for two weeks of probation later. Is the question “are juveniles getting a fair justice?” According to Nicole Scialabba during a single year, an estimated 2.1 million youth under the age of 18 are arrested in the United States. Since the 1980s there has been growing concern about crimes committed by young people. Juveniles should not be tried as adults because young offenders are at risk sent to adult prisons, they are more likely to commit crimes and they lack understanding of the crime they committed. Juveniles should not be tried as adults because they will be sent to an adult prison. An adult prison will have an extremely destructive effect on the juveniles. “Young prisoners are also at a disadvantage because they are not as mature (mentally and physically) as older prisoners (Scott). It is saying that automatically going in a adult prison they are already not safe. Compared to adults they are small. The adult prisoners are physically bigger than juveniles so...
Words: 1768 - Pages: 8
...This issue paper will cover the subject of “Trying Juveniles as Adults”. This has brought up a very controversial topic that people seem to be very passionate about. The rate of minors committing horrendous crimes has been on a steady rise for the past couple of decades (DOJ National Report Series Bulletin, 2011). There are many differences between the court system for Juveniles and the justice system for adults. In Juvenile courts there are no juries and no trails by jury either. In adult courts the sentencing is much harsher and the chance of getting off the hook with some counseling is very slim. If a juvenile is defined as a person under the age of 18, how can you justify trying them in a court designed for adult offenders? Some juvenile cases get transferred to adult criminal court through a process called a “waiver”—when a judge waives the protections that juvenile court provides (www.ojjdp.gov). Usually, juvenile cases that are subject to waiver involve more serious crimes, or minors who have been in trouble before (nolo.com/juveniles youth adult criminal court). Being tried as an adult gives a juvenile more constitutional protections, but it also has disadvantages such as losing the juvenile protections as well. Depending on the crime of the minor, both court systems can punish the individual, but which court can give the appropriate punishment or the “crime”, not the age of the person committing the crime? The big question now is should we the courts show more...
Words: 2009 - Pages: 9
...Chapter 1 1. Juvenile delinquency is the violation of a criminal law by persons under the age of 18 in most states. 2. Society views adult and juvenile offenders in many different ways such as the idea that juveniles are people that are in need of guidance because of their lack of maturity and cannot distinguish the difference between “right and wrong”. However, older offenders are expected to have this ability based off of their “experience” in life therefore deserving of punishment. 3. Juveniles are said to be immature because they lack the experience of having lived life and that they may not have understood or appreciated the harm that their actions have caused others. The immaturity is also said to have biological data that supports the argument that juveniles are immature, though there is no exact age in which a person has reached full maturity, “brain circuitry for pleasure and sensation develops rapidly during adolescences while the brain circuitry responsible for behavioral control and inhibition lags behind.” (5) 4. The major differences in the way that society treats juvenile offenders and adult offenders include the idea that juveniles are in need of guidance rather than punishment for their actions. On the other hand, adult offenders are punished for their actions. Society believes that adults were capable of distinguishing between right and wrong when they were committing an offense. 5. Status offenses are acts that are committed by juveniles that would...
Words: 1843 - Pages: 8
...Should Youthful Offenders Be Tried As Adults? Ervin Franklin March 28, 2012 SWK 501: Policy II History of Juvenile Justice System: “Many people believe juvenile courts were invented to "go easy" on young criminals. The actual reasons are more complicated. The 19th Century reformers who advocated the establishment of juvenile courts were just as interested in crime control as they were in social work. Admittedly, some reformers were motivated by a desire to save growing numbers of poor and homeless children from the streets of America’s cities. Others, however, were mainly interested in removing the legal obstacles that prevented criminal courts from dealing effectively with young hoodlums” http://www.urban.org/publications/307452.html The Juvenile Justice System was founded on the principle that “children are fundamentally different from adults, and that the justice system that deals with them should reflect these differences” (Setting the stage). Two themes make the system: the welfare of young offenders and the protection of public safety. “State legislatures are responsible for establishing juvenile courts and for framing their legal responsibilities. Thus, state lawmakers have the power to decide who falls under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and who remains under the jurisdiction of the criminal court. At one time, the issue was relatively simple. States merely decided at what age an individual was to be fully responsible for...
Words: 1619 - Pages: 7
...Juveniles convicted as adults: Unconstitutional How does placing a child in an adult prison, where they risk sexual abuse that eventually leads to suicide, teach them a lesson? Juveniles, who commit serious crimes, are usually seen as convicts or criminals who should pay the price of what they committed even if that means sentenced as an adult and occasionally with no parole. Some of these juveniles who are being tried as adults suffered from psychological traumas caused at home by their parents or own family members. People need to know what can be done to prevent these crimes. Placing a juvenile in an adult trial is unconstitutional and is abusing their rights. Many of the juveniles prosecuted as adults are placed in adult jails pretrial, where they are at risk of harm, abuse and suicide. People need to understand the importance and dangers of incarcerating a child in an adult correctional facility. The administration of justice should implement meaningful juvenile justice reforms such as, rehabilitation centers, counseling, and they should correspondingly perform psychological test before being prosecuted in an adult trial so the U.S can uphold the dignity and human rights of our children and ensure that no child in our nation is considered a throwaway person. Juvenile crime rates soared in the mid- 1990s, and that is why every state initiated strict laws against juveniles and began incarcerating minors as adults. That high rates of juvenile delinquency dropped quickly...
Words: 2520 - Pages: 11
...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...
Words: 1400 - Pages: 6
...Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Crime Ericka Davis CJA/204 July 3, 2013 Monte Morast Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Crime Delinquency is behavior by a minor that is antisocial or in violation of the law. Status offenses are activities that are deemed offenses when committed by juveniles, because of their age at the time of the activity. Some offense would include not attending school, breaking curfew laws, running away from home, and possession and consumption of alcohol. The comparison of juvenile courts and adult courts are: The juvenile courts are adjudicated in a civil proceeding, juveniles will have no criminal record, and have the ability to get record expunged and sealed once juvenile reach adult hood. In the adult court adults are charged in a criminal proceeding and upon a finding of guilt carry a criminal record for the remainder of one’s adult life (University of Phoenix 2010). One difference is juvenile courts are conducted in an informal manner, focus more on Paren’s Patria versus Due Process, court records-recordings of proceedings is the decision of the juvenile judge and the preponderance of the evidence used in most circumstance other than determine delinquency, where beyond a reasonable doubt is implemented. Now adult courts proceedings are very formal, are courts of record, and the standard of proof required to determine a guilty verdict is beyond a reasonable doubt. Only 39 states have no guaranteeing juveniles the Right to a trial by jury...
Words: 910 - Pages: 4
...Juvenile Delinquency and the Adult Court System Soc. 321 Juvenile Delinquency February 21, 2013 Table of Contents Abstract 3 Social Norms in Society 4 The founding father 4 Gangs 4 Juvenile Delinquent 5 Juvenile Justice 5 Juvenile Prosecution 6 Waivers 7 Factors for Waivers ...
Words: 2654 - Pages: 11
...Discussion about The Juveniles Law: Abolish vs Maintain As Juveniles crimes are increasing, there is criticism that the punishment for juvenile offenders is too soft. In recent years of Korea, juvenile crimes has proved that juvenile offenders became crueler than ever. The case of Busan juvenile violent crime was committed by five middle school students. The victim was their friend. They beat her six hours and threaten her with scissors. However, this is not only big problem in the South Korea, but also in the United States. According to the research of Police Department, between 1980 and 2005, 43,621 juveniles were arrested for murder in the United States. The picture is just as bleak with respect to arrests for 109,563 rapes, 818,276 robberies,...
Words: 1459 - Pages: 6
...Should Juvenile Offenders Be Tried and Punished As Adult Offenders? Steven W. Eudy Columbia Southern University EH 1020: English Composition II Professor John Willey February 28, 2011 Abstract In America, it seems as though the crime rate grows on a daily basis. While the crime rate continues to grow so does the number of juvenile offenders that are involved in criminal activity. Since late 1980’s, the number of juvenile arrests, has risen steadily and has continued to rise every year since then. With juvenile offenders committing the same crimes as adult offenders, it seems as though the juveniles should be tried and punished to the same extinct as the adult offenders that commit the same crimes. Juvenile courts have been put into place to handle the trials of juveniles and are used for guidance rather than punishment. Juvenile courts were introduced as a method to keep juveniles out of the adult courts until the age of 18, which defines a juvenile as an adult. As the crime rate continues to grow and more juveniles continue to commit adult crimes or serious violent crimes, will the juvenile court system be adequate for juvenile trials and enacting punishment for crimes that are committed by juveniles? Should Juvenile Offenders Be Tried and Punished As Adult Offenders? In law a juvenile is defined as a person who is not old enough to be held responsible for criminal acts. In most states and on the federal level, this age is set at 18 years. For example...
Words: 1405 - Pages: 6
...Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Crime Name Class Date Instructor Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Crime Have you ever wondered how juvenile and adult courts operate? How they are similar but yet how they’re so different from each other? This is a very misunderstood topic and process. We will try to shed light on some of the situations that surround these types of courts, and help provide a clearer picture to help understand exactly what happens and what’s going on inside the two. Juvenile and Adult Courts Before we go into how juvenile and adult courts compare to each other we will first look at a few terms that are often misconstrued. The act or behavior of someone that is young often seen as illegal or going against laws are known as a delinquency. The second term we should get familiar with when talking about juveniles are status offenses. Status offenses for juveniles are actions that wouldn’t be considered illegal if they were of age. Prime examples being running away from home and underage drinking, things of that nature. So what exactly is the difference between juvenile court and adult court one might ask? Or how are they similar? Well we will discuss that now and try to get a clearer picture of these two questions. Juvenile courts are of course for people that are under the age of 18, and have committed some sort of act or acts that are considered to be against the law. Even though some people may be a juvenile they could still be put on trial in...
Words: 780 - Pages: 4
...Juvenile Crime Jo Ann Macklin CJS/200 June 10, 2012 Sheila Toppin Juvenile Crime When we think of the United States judicial system, and what a good system it is. It is hard to believe at one time in our history, children were treated just as adults were. They would receive the same sentences and were placed in the same jail facilities. Now are juvenile system is not perfect, and need more improvements, but with society, and ever changing crimes, the juvenile system is always hard at work, facing the new challenges and seeking improvements. Juveniles that commit crimes are no longer considered criminals, but instead juvenile delinquents. If the child is of a certain age in some states, or the crime is a violent felony, such as rape, or murder, the child can be treated as an adult, making him or her criminal and trialed as an adult in a criminal court of law. The juvenile offender is treated different than an adult offender. The juvenile court system’s main concerns are for the safety, privacy and rehabilitation of the minor offender. The most signifying differences as stated by Attorney LaMance, Ken, “Juveniles are not prosecuted for committing crimes, but rather delinquent acts. When the delinquent acts are very serious, they may be considered crimes and the juvenile may be tried in the adult system. Juveniles don't have a right to a public trial by jury. For a juvenile charged with a crime, the trial portion of the case involves a judge hearing evidence and ruling...
Words: 1123 - Pages: 5
...An Overview of Juvenile Delinquency in the United States 1. Introduction Juvenile delinquency regards crimes that are committed by individuals under the age of 18. Juveniles can be treated as adults depending on the nature of the crimes. Misdemeanors are minor crimes that don’t carry harsh penalties although felony related offenses do. Each state has juvenile courts that deal with juvenile delinquency. In 2010, there were a total of 308,745,538 juvenile delinquents living in the United States. This large has caused an increased concern about the number of youths that are committing crimes of all kinds. Major causes of juvenile delinquency are a lack of employment opportunities, little to no education and drug addiction among the parents. Juveniles that live with parents that have substance abuse problems often exhibit negative behaviors that result in crime. One program, “Beyond Scared Straight” has been highlighted in the media recently because it uses scare tactics to help juveniles avoid crime and the resulting jail time. This paper will provide an over of juvenile delinquency by defining it in terms of prevalence, causes and interventions. 2. Juvenile Delinquency Defined Each state in the United States have pre-established laws that define juveniles. Roberts concludes that individuals that have not turned 18 are juveniles in the eyes of the law. However, juveniles can be tried as adults if they commit serious crimes such as murder and robbery (Roberts). This has...
Words: 1655 - Pages: 7
...Criminal Justice Deborah Carr, J.D. Juvenile court is a specific court which deals with young adults who violate federal, state, and county laws. The court also addresses children and young adults who have been abused sexually, physically or emotional and mentally, dependent upon drugs or neglected. Most juveniles will be seen in this court until the age of eighteen. There is then an additional facility that may house young offenders from 18-25. If an offender needs further incarceration to finish their sentence then they will be sent to adult facility once they turn 25. In recent years however some crimes are so heinous that young adults have been tried as adults in adult court subject to those rules. The definition of delinquency is the behavior of a person that is a violation of the law. It is a continued disobedient behavior that does not seem to be able to be corrected by community leaders, church or parents. The offender is then handed over to the juvenile courts for correction. Status offenses are based on behavior of status offenders. A status offender is the special category that encompasses a specific genre of offender. In this case it is based on children who violate laws specific to them such as truancy from school, running away from home and basic disrespect of parents and laws. Some basic similarities exist in both courts. Both courts are there to punish the offender and protect the community. Adult courts are based on an offender being a...
Words: 1663 - Pages: 7
