Chapter 15

Summary:
In the 19th century, many juries were acquitting children who were charged with crimes.  Houses of refuge were created to strike a balance between punishment and justice.  These workhouses were an early means of separating juvenile offenders from adult offenders.  Reformatories were created as detention facilities designed to reform individuals, historically juveniles.  The Illinois Juvenile Court Act of 1899 established the first juveniles court in the United States for neglected, dependent, or delinquent children under age 16.  Juvenile courts have original jurisdiction to hear juvenile crime matters.  Status offenses are those crimes committed by juveniles that would not be a crime is committed by an adult.  Examples of status offenses include purchasing alcohol or tobacco products, truancy, and violating curfew.  Usually a juvenile thought to be on the verge of becoming a delinquent is termed a person in need of supervision, or PINS.  The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 removed status offenders from secure detention and correctional facilities.  Juvenile offending today includes family dysfunction, drugs use and deviance, socioeconomic class, and educational experiences.  Parens Patriae is a doctrine in which the state is the ultimate parent of the child (and will step in to provide and care for the child if parents neglect those duties).  In Loco Parentis is a doctrine in which the state will act in place of the parents if they fail in their duties to protect and provide for the child. Underlying principles of the juvenile court include the presumption of innocence, least involvement with the system, and in the best interest of the child. The goals of the juvenile justice system are the separation from adults, youth confidentiality, community-based corrections, and individualized justice of minors.  Significant court cases have been decided concerning right to counsel, the burden of proof standard, trial by jury, double jeopardy, executions, the right to the Miranda warning, and serving sentences of life without parole.

Objectives:

• Describe the early treatment of juveniles and history of our juvenile justice system, which includes the houses of refuge, reformatories, and Illinois’s creating the first juvenile court
   
• Review which kinds of behaviors by juveniles constitute status offenses
   
• Discuss the extent of, and theories underlying, juvenile criminality
   
• Explain the unique philosophy, principles, and goals underlying the treatment of youthful offenders by the juvenile court system
   
• Review the process and flow of cases through the juvenile justice system
   
• Relate when and why a juvenile offender may be transferred to the jurisdiction of an adult criminal court
   
• Delineate the due process and other major rights of juveniles as set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court

Outline:

• History of Juvenile Justice
   
  • Early Treatment: House of Refuge, Reformations
     
  • A Movement Begins: Illinois Legislation
     
  • Status Offenses
     
• Juvenile Offending Today
   
  • Family dysfunction
     
  • Drug use and deviance
     
  • Socioeconomic class
     
  • Educational experiences
     
• Unique Philosophy, Principles, and Goals
   
  • Parens Patriae and In Loco Parentis
     
  • Underlying Principles of the Juvenile Court
     
  • Goals of the Juvenile Justice System
     
• Case Flow of the Juvenile Justice Process
   
  • Law enforcement diverts many juvenile offenders out of the justice system
     
  • A non–law enforcement agency may divert juvenile offenders out of the justice system
     
  • During the processing of a case, a juvenile may be held in a secure detention facility
     
  • Filing cases in either juvenile or criminal court
     
  • A disposition reached in the case
     
  • The judge may order the juvenile committed to a residential placement
     
  • Juvenile aftercare, similar to adult parole
     
• Significant Court Decisions
   
  • Right to Counsel
     
  • The Centerpiece: In Re Gault
     
  • Burden of Proof Standard
     
  • Trial by Jury, Double Jeopardy, Executions
     
  • Right to the Miranda Warning
     
  • Serving Sentences of Life Without Parole