Teen Court: Juvenile Justice System

Justice for Juveniles The American juvenile justice system was designed over a hundred years ago to reform kids who were found guilty of minor crimes such as petty theft and truancy. Today, the system is becoming overwhelmed by crimes of violence. Stealing and skipping school have been replaced by violent crimes, such as rape and murder.

Many teens get into some kind of trouble in their life whether it is at home or at school. Teens use drugs to “fix” these problems or committing suicide or crimes. These teens go to a juvenile justice center to fix their problems with help from the workers which sometimes doesn’t work and they come out as even worse than they had come to the center in the first place.

This website discusses the main focus their diversion programs have when interacting with first time offenders. As it describes the main focus of the program it mentions how ninety percent of first time offenders who go through this program do not reoffend. This teen court diversion program is well known around the Lansing area of Michigan. It is well known because this program not just work with juveniles as they offend but also work closely with their family and the school they attend. Teen Court does not just focus on the individual it focuses on other factors that can potentially affect the youth.

The juvenile court system is a fixture of the justice system with many moving parts. Each component and member of the court system are essential in carrying out their common goal. By helping operate a complex system built to rehabilitate juveniles, these people, and the programs they run, prevent juveniles from reoffending, benefit them, and help them towards the path of becoming a productive member of society.

There are four Correctional modules in the juvenile justice system: The treatment model, the justice model, the crime control model, and the balanced and restorative justice model. The Parens patriae, or treatment model, is a more informal and flexible procedure. In this model a juvenile judge would probe the root causes of the child’s difficulties. The justice model is the concept of just deserts, in that violators are responsible and should be punished. The punishment received by juveniles however, must be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime.

I have been volunteering with the Juneau Youth Court (JYC) for the last year and a half. JYC is an alternative court system ¬operated by students for offenders who are under 18, and allows teens who have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor offenses such as Minor Consuming or Shoplifting to have their case heard outside the state court system. When an offender has completed their sentence imposed by JYC, their case is dismissed; if they don’t go through JYC or don’t complete their sentence, their charges will remain on their record.

In “Juvenile Mediation Cuts Repeat Offenses”, associate Professor Donna Decker at the University of New Haven contends that if a juvenile faces the consequences of their actions, they are less likely to commit another crime. She stated that the juveniles did not realize that their actions could result in consequences thus making it much easier to commit crimes. In an effort to support this statement, Morris conducted a study on the juvenile offenders in Bridgeport. “She utilized the results from mediations conducted by the Dispute Settlement Center between 2005 and 2006” (Cuda, 2010). The program which started in the year 2005 allows juvenile offenders to get their case dropped, but they must face the consequences of their actions by engaging in conversation with the victim. During this conversation, the juvenile offender is to admit their wrongdoings. Most offenses that come through mediation centers are misdemeanor offenses. Those offenses could range from petty theft to assaults.

During early history, juvenile offenders we're treated the same as adults. Juveniles would be arrested, taking into custody and imprisoned in the equivalent facilities as adults. Back then punishments we’re the go, as for now, we have rehabilitation and treatments. “parens patriae” also known as the State, was established, they believed it would resolved the offenses being committed by juveniles. Parens patriae gave the state the right to make decisions for the child in replace of their parents. Juvenile justice faces an uncertain future. Despite this fact, it continues to operate under the “parens patriae” philosophy upon which it was built. The system now incorporate elements of due process and adapts to the changing demands placed on it.

Discuss and describe the process in which juvenile cases can be transferred to adult courts.

Probation is known as a front-door program that helps participants avoid going to jail or prison; it also serves as a second chance for offenders to get their lives back together. I was wondering, though—does probation really work for youth? Do those who undergo probation receive rehabilitation so they won’t commit future crimes? Also, what is it like to have someone who is a youth in the criminal justice system? What services do they receive?

The Juvenile Justice System was a system created over a century ago to prevent young juveniles under the age of 17 to be process and tried as an adult. The Juvenile system was created to let juveniles have an easier sentencing with fair treatments and rehabilitation, but lately the system has been racially biased towards colored juveniles because of their skin color which results the system being unfair towards colored juveniles in the system. The Juvenile Justice System is racially bias towards colored juveniles, because colored juveniles are more likely to receive harsher treatments than their white counterparts, won’t receive enough resources for rehab, and receiving lack of legal representation for trials.

4. The fact is that considerable similarity exists between the juvenile and adult justice system. Both consist of three basic subsystems and interrelated agencies. The flow of justice in both is supposed to be from law violation to police apprehension, judicial process, judicial disposition, and rehabilitation in correctional agencies.

Essentially, it is obvious St. Louis City juvenile justice has taken great strides in ensuring their clients partake in juvenile justice reform. Certainly, over the years this has been the center piece of the institution in providing a plethora of services, which compassionately meets many of the needs of its youth. However, despite the history and longevity associated with the St. Louis City’s juvenile system, including the uniqueness of the services they provide within the institution today. The need to further develop facility resources, which provides adequate programming and additional tools for its detainees and staff is continual. Clearly, the institution has undoubtedly exceeded many of its own expectations over the years, impressively

Competency to Stand Trial In criminal court, when the question of CST is posed, the court requests an evaluation from a mental health professional on knowing whether the defendant has any mental illness or mental defect that would interfere with their ability to participate in proceedings of the court (Pillay, 2014). The court also seeks evidence from a mental health professional on whether the defendant had a mental illness or mental defect at the time of the examination, and by that, likely, the time of the trial (Pillay, 2014). There are standardized assessment tools that have been developed to help assess adult competency (Baranoski, 2003). Although there is no statutory distinction between adult and child competency, most courts recognize that cases with adolescents are different (Baranoski, 2003). In this case, a competency evaluation is adjusted to meet the needs of the juvenile and the court (Baranoski, 2003).

Today, courts ruled life without parole for non-homicide crime is unconstitutional. Some states allow experimenting with alternate sentencing options such as a “blended adult” portion of their sentence until they turn 21. Therefore the judge can keep track of the progress that the child had made and make as needed changes to the sentencing. (Sentenced Young) The juvenile court system will forever need adjustments as year’s progress and generation cohorts and crime rates change. Since the adjusting sentencing laws, juvenile crime has decrease, while incarnation rates increase. Unfortunately, Tate continue to have run in with law after his release. Nine, months after his release he was found by police walking the street with a knife, which was