Juvenile Justice Model

• Chicago established the first juvenile court in 1899 to hear cases on crimes committed by offenders under the age of 16. The model quickly spread throughout the country; in many states offenders were considered juveniles up to the age of 17, and in a handful of other states, juveniles were 15 or younger. Juvenile court functioned on the legal concept of parens patriae, or parent of the country. The court accepted the role of a parent with the goal of rehabilitating a juvenile offender. Rules and procedures in juvenile court were relaxed and offenders often appeared before a judge without a lawyer. Judges had wide leeway to consider a juvenile's background, family circumstances, economic status and other extenuating circumstances in juvenile cases.
  
  

Legal Rights

• In 1967, Gerald Gault, a 14-year-old Arizona boy, was charged with making obscene phone calls. Gault was taken into custody but never formally charged. There were no witnesses at his hearing, which ended with a judge ordering him to attend a state school until he was 21. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision and ruled that juveniles have the same constitutional rights of due process under the law as adults. With the Gault case, juveniles were assured the right to legal counsel and to be informed of charges against them. Juveniles were also guaranteed the right to confront witnesses and to refuse to give incriminating evidence.
  
  

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act

• Congress passed the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to strengthen the juvenile justice system. The federal government provides funding for juvenile crime prevention programs to states that keep juvenile offenders separate from adult offenders. States must keep juveniles being held as runaways or for offenses such as violating curfews in juvenile facilities. State officials must also investigate when there are a disproportionate number of minority offenders in a particular juvenile criminal justice system.
  
  

Tried as Adults

• In 1992, juveniles were involved in 2,500 murders and 5,400 forcible rapes. Those numbers reflected a growing trend of juvenile crime that triggered a shift in the juvenile justice system. Many states started allowing juveniles who were charged with violent crimes to be tried as adults. Juveniles who enter the adult criminal justice system and are found guilty of crimes receive the same sentences as adults, including life with no parole. They are also kept in adult prisons, where they are at risk of abuse from the adult inmate population and where there is far less emphasis on rehabilitation.
  
  

Detention

• In 2007, about 22 percent of all juvenile offenders were detained or incarcerated while their cases were being heard by juvenile courts. Juveniles are locked up to ensure that they appear for all scheduled hearings or trials, to protect victims and the community and, in some cases, to make sure that the juvenile offender is kept safe. However, according to juvenile justice reform advocates, only about 20 percent of the youths held in juvenile detention centers are charged with violent crimes. The majority are kept for minor offenses in overcrowded facilities that cost taxpayers millions of dollars each year.
  
  

Prevention/Solution

• Juvenile justice reform advocates believe the system should refocus its energy and resources on prevention programs and re-entry services for offenders who return to their home communities after being released from detention facilities. They believe the juvenile justice system should offer more planning, counseling, health care, education, training, financial assistance and family support.