Juvenile Justice Research Paper Essay

AbstractThe upstart Justice System has gone by dint of some(prenominal) modifys in America and argon represented through 6 main bounds that will be discussed in this paper. The mensess argon called the Puritan term (16461824), the Refuge blockold age (1824-1899), the new-fashioned Court breaker point (1899-1960), The young Rights pointedness (1960-1980), the Crime examine Period (1980-2005), and The Kids ar diametrical Period (2005-present). novel Justice has constantly changed depending on the beliefs, needs and wants of society during a real era. thither are reformers who suck fought and continue to do so for the vanquish sideline of teenages and society. They have played a major role and succeeded in many a(prenominal) changes through the Juvenile Justice history.Youth evil has eternally been present in the United States dating back to the colonial period when American cities were prototypical established in our country. The way youth hatred has been ha ndled has drastically changed over the years. Some people may feel the changes are for the better, and some may not agree with the changes. However, by taking a look at the history of the new musical arrangement clearly many reformers have fought for changes and laws to protect and rehabilitate teenage offenders.Literature ReviewThere are six main periods in the development of the United States Juvenile Justice system. The first development has early ties dating back to the nineteenth century. The earliest attempt to control juvenile behavior was during The Puritan Period from 1646 until 1824. The momma Stubborn Child Law was passed in 1646. The puritans during this time viewed children as evil and placed responsibility on the family to discipline and raise youths. If the parents were abortive the youth would, then be subject to the law. (Cole, Smith, DeJong page 472). During this time, children over the age of five were treated either as small bighearteds or property. A seven -year-old child could be sentenced in criminal hails. In 1648 in Massachusetts a child who cursed his natural parents could be put to finish (U.S. taradiddle). The second period is The Refuge Period from 1824 until 1899. Youth crime began to bristle up effective alongside American cities. As a result, reformers began to develop punitive practices.The main focus was on urban immigrant poor, seeking to have parents tell unfit if their children roamed the streets and were out of control. Of course, not all poor immigrant children were convoluted in criminal acts but if the parents were viewed as not disciplining or training them to make out societys rules, the children would end up in prison house. Institutions were opened, which were half prison and half school house, andthey were occupied by orphans and children convicted of crimes. Many children were placed in these homes because of neglect or being homeless and stayed until they were matures. The houses were run by a stri ct program of work, study and discipline. Reform schools were also opened to digest discipline and education in a home like atmosphere. even up with the reform schools children could still be arrested. The passage for arrests, trial, and imprisonments were the same for children and adults during this period. (Cole, Smith, DeJong page 472).The leash period is The Juvenile Court Period from 1899 until 1960. Juvenile criminality became a focus and reformers pushed for individualized care and treatment to offenders of all kinds to include adult criminals, the mentally ill, and juvenile delinquents. They pushed for the use of probation, treatment, indeterminate sentences, and free for adults and succeeded in resembling programs for juveniles. The upper-middle class reformers were called child savers, and they fought to use the power of state to save children from a life of crime. They fought for a separate juvenile court system that could point problems by using flexible procedure s. An act was passed in 1899 for children under 16, which had iv main parts, they are a separate court. for juveniles, fewer adversarial procedures than the adult system, dissolution of children from adults in the system, and programs to assist the courts in deciding what is in the best interest of the child and the state.The philosophy came from the idea that the state would deal with a child much like a good parent would and procedures would be casual and private. Social workers and psychologists were apply in the system instead of lawyers because social workers and psychologists could fix the underlying behavior problem. (Cole, Smith, DeJong page 472 473). According to (lawyershop) in the article The History of Americas Juvenile Justice System the Progressive epoch in the United States was from 1900 until 1918 and was a time of social reform. It follows a period of discontent where Americans experienced struggles such as the womens suffrage movement, and the struggle agai nst child labor. In 1899, the State of Illinois established the first juvenile court and within 30 years, all the states had established juvenile courts. The main difference between juvenile and adult court was that juvenilecourts were civil in nature and adult courts were criminal. (Maryland.gov).Next came the Juvenile Rights Period from 1960 until 1980. In the early 1960s lawyers and scholars began to criticize the extent of discretion stipulation to juvenile justice officials, and the U.S. imperious court expanded the rights of juveniles. A calculate can now waive jurisdiction and pass a quality to adult court. Children in a delinquency hearing were given accredited procedural rights such as notice of the charges, right to counsel, right to reside and cross-examine witnesses, and protection against self- incrimination. Also, another change is the onset of status offenses, which are acts that are not il intelligent if committed by an adult such as skipping school or running away. (Cole, Smith, DeJong pages 473 475). According to (Maryland.gov)Until the late 1960s, youth in the juvenile court system did not have constitutional legal rights. That changed with the U.S. Supreme Courts 1967 decision in In re Gault. In that case, the Supreme Court concluded that even though juvenile courts were civil proceedings, juveniles subject to these proceedings still faced a potence difference loss of liberty. For that reason, the Supreme Court mandatory that all youth offenders involved in juvenile court proceedings and facing possible elbow grease have the following constitutional rightsThe right to receive notice of chargesThe right to obtain legal counselThe right to confrontation and cross-examinationThe privilege against self-incriminationThe right to receive a transcript of the proceedings, andThe right to have an appellate courts review the lower courts decision. As a result of Juvenile crime, rising in the 1970s the Crime Control Period of 1980-2005 came t o surface. The public demand to crack d hold on crime began in 1980. The juvenile system changed in regard to greater charge being placed on repeat offenders with policy makers calling for harsher penalisation on juveniles who commit crimes and juveniles could now be held in preventative cargo deck prior to trial if considered a risk to society. Crime control policies resulted in a lot more juveniles beingtried in adult courts and seemed to go beyond the juveniles who were accused of violent crimes. (Cole, Smith, DeJong page 475). Some laws were passed that required law enforcement and the courts to mechanically charge youth as adults if they were alleged to have committed violent crimes with weapons. (Maryland.gov) We are currently in the Kids Are Different Period, which began in 2005 and is still going on.This is a new era in juvenile justice brought on by the new ruling that executions are unconstitutional for crimes committed by anyone younger than 18 years. The ruling was d o because juveniles are less deserving of blame than adults due to factors such as physical and emotional development that comes from emotional development that comes from growth and maturity date of the brain. Maturity occurs at age 16, but controls over impulsiveness are not fully developed until age 24 or 26.Because of this recognition, new programs and laws are designed to treat juveniles differently than adults. Emotional and intellectual development plays a role in how children understand or fail to understand their rights. The process for judicial waiver to move juveniles to adult court is not used as much during this period. Lawyers are now normally present at stages in the process to include court hearings. Offenders rarely up in punitive environments such as training schools and the juvenile justice system is similar to the adult system but not as testis with the intention to keep juveniles in the community when possible. According to (U.S. History)In 2012, the Supreme C ourt continued its trend of holding that children cannot be automatically penalise the same way as adult criminals without considering their age and other factors, by further ruling that juveniles under the age of 18 who commit tally may not receive mandatory life sentences with any destiny for parole. Each case must be decided on its own merits, and the sentence imposed must take into account the childs age and other factors.The ruling allows judges and juries to consider a juveniles age when they hand down sentences for some of the harshest crimes, instead of qualification life in prison without parole an automatic sentence. The ruling left wing open from the possibility that judges can sentence juveniles to life without parole in individual cases of murder, but said state and federal laws cannot automatically impose such a sentence. The court recognizedthat children need supernumerary attention and protection in the consideration of the unique status of children and their p otential for change.ConclusionThe Juvenile Justice System has gone through many changed since youth crime first started in America. It continues to change as reformers fight for juvenile rights and fight to keep rehabilitation programs. At the end of the day, the Juvenile System is here to protect the offender as well as the society as a whole. Juveniles are young enough to change and the rehabilitation programs are worth it, especially when some juveniles change and make out a productive member of society.ReferencesDeJong, C., Cole, G. F., & Smith, C. E. (2013). Chapter 15. In Criminal Justice in America. Belmont, CA Wadsworth. History of Americas Juvenile Justice System. (n.d.). LawyerShop Site. Retrieved declination 06, 2014, from http//www.lawyershop.com/practice-areas/criminal-law/juvenile-law/history History of Juvenile Justice in the United States. (n.d.). Maryland.gov subdivision of Juvenile Systems Retrieved December 05, 2014, from http//www.djs.state.md.us/history-us.as p U.S. History. (n.d.). State of Louisiana/Youth Services/ space of Juvenile Justice. Retrieved December 06, 2014 http//www.ojj.la.gov/index.php?page=sub&id=230