Criminal Justice Chapter 13 Flashcards
Parrens Patriae
This term is a concept of standing (something to lose doctrine that enables a law to be nullified, often used by courts of equity when acting on behalf of the state to protect and control the property and custody of minors and incompetent minors.
*The court as an arm of the state acts in the capacity of PARRENS PATRIAE when it awards custody of a minor to one parent in a divorce, separation or HABEUS CORPUS PROCEEDINGS.
Poor Laws
Mandated the appointment of overseers who placed destitute or neglected children with families who then trained them in trade: farming, shipping, docks etc. This process is also called indenture.
Child Savers
- Middle class or working- class civic leaders that developed organizations and groups to help alleviate the burdens of the poor and immigrants by sponsoring shelter care for youths in settlement houses.
- These programs extended government control over minors that previously were left to the family.
A.
Conceived at the turn of the twentieth century, the juvenile justice system was viewed as quasi- social welfare agency to act as surrogate parents in the interests of the child.
(Parrens Patriae)
B.
Those who adopt a crime control orientation suggest the Parrens- Patriae view is outdated.
Children’s Aid Society
In the mid 1800s a man named Charles Loring Brace founded the Children’s Aid Society, which was designed to ensure the physical well- being of children. Brace believed that work, education and a strong family life could enable children to become self- reliant, successful citizens.
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention act of 1974
Federal law that provides funds to states that follows a series of federal protections, known as the “core protections,” on the care and treatment of youth in the justice system.
*Its main goal is to put juvenile delinquents with violent offenders.
Juvenile Court
Tribunals first established in the 1800s in America, designed to treat youthful offenders separately from adults.
* Jurisdiction is over two distinct categories of offenders: delinquents and status offenders.
C.
Juvenile delinquency refers to children who fall under a jurisdictional age limit and who commit an act in violation of the penal code.
D.
Status offenders commit acts forbidden to minors.
E.
States also have set different maximum ages below which children fall under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.
F.
Some states exclude certain classes of offenders or offenses from the juvenile justice system.
G.
Another trend has been to create family courts, which include a broad range of family and child related issues within their jurisdictions.
H.
The juvenile justice system has evolved into a parallel yet independent system of justice with its own terminology and rules of procedure.
IN RE GAUL
Juveniles accused of crimes in a delinquency proceeding must be afforded many the same DUE PROCESS Protections. One of these protections is that they are entitled to a lawyer.
A.
This is the first major court appearance where the child first hears the charges that were filed against them for the first time.
B.
IN RE GAULT in 1967 ruled that the concept of fundamental fairness is applicable to juvenile delinquency proceedings.
Disposition- the (result)/ outcome of the hearing and treatment
- At the dispositional hearing the juvenile court imposes a sentence on the juvenile based on the offense, prior record and family background.
- In theory, the juvenile court seeks to provide a disposition that represents an individual treatment plan for the child.
- Typical juvenile court dispositions include a suspended judgment, probation, placement in community treatment program, and commitment to the state agency responsible for juvenile institutional care.
Dispositional Outcomes
A. Juvenile court judges must determine the appropriate sanction for the youth.
B. About 25 percent of all cases get some form of residential treatment and approximately 60 percent receive probation.
Juvenile sentencing reform
- Some law enforcement officials and conservative legislators have demanded that the juvenile justice system take a more serious stand with dangerous juvenile offenders.
- There has been an effort to remove status offenders from the juvenile offenders.
Juvenile Delinquency
A term used to describe minors who have committed an offense ordinarily punishable by criminal processes.
Delinquent Act
An offense committed by a juvenile that would be classified as a crime if it was committed by an adult.
Statutory
Carrying a penalty prescribed by written law (re: statues) made by legislatures; Statutory Theft.
Status Offenders
A youth who is judged to be beyond the control of his or her parents or guardians.
Detention
- The process of restraint in a person for someone.
- Official purpose by establishing control over that person.
- The example that we have been using all semester is pe- trial detention which involves a person’s inability to make bail.
Restorative Justice
Offenders should be reintegrated into society and the system must become more humane.
Waiver
An intentional and voluntary giving up, relinquishment or surrender of some known right.
* In a criminal procedure, the defendant should personally participate in a decision to waive a constitutional right.
A.
U.S. juvenile court cases process an estimated 1.6 million delinquency cases each year, making caseloads four times as large in 1960.
B. Intake Process
- After police processing, the juvenile offender is typically remanded to the local juvenile court’s intake division.
- Court intake officers or probation personnel review and initially screen the child to determine whether the case needs to be handled formally.
- Intake is important because more than half of the referrals to the juvenile courts never go beyond this stage.
The Detention Process
- Detention has always been a controversial area of juvenile justice.
- The Juvenile Justice Act of 1974 placed emphasis on reducing the number of children in inappropriate detention facilities, but the practice still continues.
- Of youths in detention, 70% are held for nonviolent charges.
Legal Issues
- Most states require a hearing on the appropriateness of detention if the initial decision is to keep the child in custody.
- At the hearing, the child has a right to counsel and may be given other procedures due to process safeguards.
- The finding of the judge that the child should be detained must be supported by factual evidence.
What is a status offender?
A status offender is a juvenile who engages in behavior legally forbidden to minors, such as running away, truancy, or incorrigibility.
Please provide 3 differences between juvenile and adult justice systems.
- Juveniles can be searched in school without probable cause or a warrant, whereas adults cannot.
- The standard of arrest is more stringent for adults than for juveniles.
- Juvenile proceedings are not considered criminal; adult proceedings are.
Should status offenders be treated by the juvenile court?
I do not think that all status offenders should be treated by the juvenile court. One reason I think this that if they commit extremely violent offenses such as rape or murder then these children deserve harsher punishments, which they will probably only receive if they are treated in the adult court system.
Please provide 3 similarities between juvenile and adult justice systems.
- The discretion used by police officers, judges and correctional officers are the same.
- In both systems people have the right to receive the Miranda Warning.
- Both have probation as a sentencing option.
Please provide 3 criteria used to support a state decision to detain a child.
- The need to protect the child.
- Whether the child presents a danger to the public.
- The likelihood that the juvenile will return to court for adjudication.
