Juvenile Justice

Week 1

CJ420

Historical Development of Juvenile Justice

From a historical perspective, juvenile delinquency and a separate justice process for juveniles are recent concepts.

juvenile delinquencyA special category of offense created for youths—that is, in most U.S. jurisdictions, persons between the ages of 7 and 18.

The Development of Institutions for Youth

In the beginning of the 19th century, American cities were seeing tremendous growth, particularly because of immigration and, in later years, industrialization.

The Houses of RefugeHouses of refuge were designed to be institutions where children could be reformed and turned into hard-working members of the community.

A child could be committed to a house of refuge by a constable, by a parent, or on the order of a city alderman.

The Houses of RefugeChildren in houses of refuge engaged in a daily regimen of hard work, military drills, and enforced silence, as well as religious and academic training.

After “reformation,” boys were frequently indentured to masters on farms or to tradesmen, and girls were placed in domestic service.

ProbationBoston shoemaker John Augustus, the “father of probation,” volunteered in 1841 to provide bail for and to supervise minor offenders.

The Development of the Juvenile Court

During the late 1800s, a new groups of reformers, the child savers, began to advocate a new institution to deal with youth problems:

The juvenile court.

The Legal Context of the Juvenile Court

By the late 1800s, legal mechanisms for treating children differently and separately from adults were being put in place.

The first juvenile court was established in 1899 in Cook County Illinois

The Legal Context of the Juvenile Court

• The doctrine of parens patriae served as the foundation for the juvenile court

parens patriaeThe legal philosophy justifying state intervention in the lives of children when their parents are unable or unwilling to protect them.

The Legal Reform Years:In re Gault

In the landmark case, In re Gault (1967), the U.S. Supreme Court gave juveniles a number of due process protections:

• The right against self-incrimination• A right to adequate notice of charges against them• A right to confront and to cross-examine their

accuserscontinued…

The Legal Reform Years:In re Gault

• The right to assistance of counsel• The right to sworn testimony and appeal

status offensesActs that are not crimes when committed by adults but are illegal for children (for example, truancy or running away from home).

The Police Response to JuvenilesTypical responses that police officers employ in handling juvenile cases are:

• Warn and release

• Refer to parents

• Refer to a diversionary program operated by the police or another community agency

• Refer to court

Trends in Police Processing of Juveniles

In recent years, there has been a trend toward more formal processing of juveniles taken into police custody, particularly:

• Referring more youths to juvenile court

• Handling fewer cases within police departments

• Referring more cases to criminal courts

Diversion

The goal of juvenile diversion programs is to respond to youths in ways that avoid formal juvenile justice processing.

Diversion usually occurs before adjudication.

Diversion

Diversion programs are based on the understanding that formal responses to youths who violate the law do not always protect the best interests of children or the community.

DetentionSometimes a youth is held in secure detention facility during processing. There are three primary reasons for this practice:

1. To protect the community from the juveniles

2. To ensure that the juvenile appears at a subsequent stage of processing

3. To secure the juvenile’s own safety

Questions