Chapter 16

Juvenile Corrections:End of an Era?

McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

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Juveniles

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), juveniles accounted for 14 percent of all 2009 arrests and15 percent of all 2009 violent crime arrests.

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A Brief History The English and American juvenile justice systems

use the doctrine of parens patriae. Latin term that refers to the state as guardian of minors

and incompetent people Historically, juvenile offenders in England were

confined with adults. In 1704, John Howard introduced a Roman

institutional model for juvenile offenders. American colonists brought his ideas to the new world.

Reformers tailored Howard’s ideas to create houses of refuge, reform schools, and industrial schools for juveniles.

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A Brief History – Continued

In 1825, the first legally chartered American custodial institution for juvenile offenders, the New York House of Refuge, was established by penal reformer Thomas Eddy, education reformer John Griscom, and the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism.

The Lyman School, the first state-sponsored reform school, opened in Massachusetts in 1848. Reform School – a penal institution to which

especially young or first-time offenders are committed for training and reformation

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The Juvenile Court

People ex rel. O’Connell v. Turner (1870)– the Illinois Supreme Court began the movement toward creating a separate juvenile court

That movement came to fruition in 1899, when the Illinois legislature established the nation’s first juvenile court in Cook County (Chicago)

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Juvenile Euphemisms Delinquents Taken into custody Petition is filed Held on petition Adjudicatory hearing Finding Disposition Adjudicated Training school Aftercare

Criminals Arrested Charge filed Indicted Trial Verdict Sentence Convicted Prison Parole

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Landmark Cases

Kent v. United States (1966) – in cases involving transfer of jurisdiction, juveniles are entitled to certain essential due process rights, such as a hearing, an attorney, access to records, a written statement of reasons for the transfer

In re Gault (1967) – juvenile offenders have the right to reasonable notice of charges, appointed counsel, question witnesses, and protection against self-incrimination

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Landmark Cases – Continued In re Winship (1970) – the guilty beyond a

reasonable doubt standard should be required in all delinquency adjudications

McKeiver v. Pennsylvania (1971) – the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not require jury trials in juvenile court

Breed v. Jones (1975) – the double jeopardy protection applies to juvenile adjudication proceedings

Shall v. Martin (1984) – preventive detention may be used for juveniles

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Juvenile Crime

Delinquent offenses - acts committed by juveniles that, if committed by adults, could result in criminal prosecution

Status offenses - acts that are law violations only for juveniles such as running away, truancy, or ungovernability Sometimes referred to as incorrigibility or

being beyond parental control

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The Juvenile Justice Process

The three phases of the juvenile justice

process are: Intake Adjudication Disposition

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Intake

The first stage of the juvenile justice process.

A court-appointed officer reviews the case and recommends a course of action— dismissal, informal disposition, formal disposition, or transfer to adult criminal court

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Detention

Detention Hearing – a judicial review of the intake officer’s detention decision

Juvenile detention facility – a facility for keeping juvenile offenders in secure custody, as necessary, through various stages of the juvenile justice process

Guardian Ad Litem – a person appointed by the juvenile court, often defense counsel, to serve as a special guardian for the youth being processed through the juvenile justice system

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Adjudication

The process by which a court arrives at a final disposition in a case; also the second stage in the juvenile justice process

The court decides whether the offender is formally responsible for (guilty of) the alleged offense

Equivalent to the trial in adult criminal cases

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Disposition

The third stage of the juvenile justice process in which the court decides the disposition (sentence) for a juvenile case

Equivalent to the sentencing of an adult offender

Predisposition report – a report that documents (1) the juvenile’s background; (2) educational history; (3) information gathered from interviews with the juvenile, family members, and others; (4) available placement options; and (5) recommended dispositions

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Types of Dispositions Probation Commitment to group homes

A non-secure residential facility for juveniles Residential treatment

A residential facility that provides intensive treatment services to juveniles

Boot camp Juvenile correctional institutions Blended sentencing

A two-part (juvenile and adult) sentence in which the adult sentence may be waved if the offender complies with all provisions of the juvenile sentence

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Evidence-Based Practice and Juvenile Corrections

Few studies have focused on reducing recidivism among juvenile offenders

Most effective strategy for treating and rehabilitating juvenile offenders Prevention programming Continuum of pre-trial and sentencing

placement options Services and sanctions Aftercare programs

An example is the approach used by the California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ)

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Transfer

Juveniles may be transferred to adult court under

one of three provisions: Waiver Provisions – the juvenile court orders

transfer of the case to adult criminal court Direct File Provisions – the prosecutor

determines whether to initiate a case against a juvenile in juvenile court or in adult criminal court

Statutory Exclusion Provisions – the adult criminal court jurisdiction for certain juvenile cases is established by state law

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Juvenile Correctional Facilities

Juvenile corrections functions are placed in various state agencies by the different states.

Operating budgets for the agencies ranged from $642 million (Florida) to about $10 million (North Dakota).

Nationwide, the number of delinquency cases involving detention increased 42 percent between 1985 and 2002, from 231,400 to 329,800.

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Teen Courts

Courts in which youths adjudicate and impose disposition for a juvenile offense

Also called peer and youth courts Have become a popular alternative to the

traditional juvenile court for young or first-time offenders

Teen courts handled approximately 125,000 cases in 2005

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Four Models of Teen Courts

The Adult Judge model – an adult serves as judge and youth serve as attorneys and court staff

The Youth Judge model – parallels the Adult Judge model, with the exception that a youth serves as judge

The Tribunal model – youth attorneys present the case to a panel of three youth judges

The Peer Jury model – uses no attorneys; the case is presented to the jury by a youth or adult and the jury questions the defendant

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Youth Gangs

Gang: a criminal enterprise having an organizational structure, acting as a continuing criminal conspiracy, that employs violence and any other criminal activity to sustain itself

Youth gang: a gang whose membership is generally comprised of people between the ages of 12 and 24

Street gang: an organized group of people on the street often engaged in significant illegitimate or criminal activity