Exam #3 General Flashcards
(41 cards)
A court that is devoted to a specific issue within juvenile justice
– “problem solving” courts rather than penal courts
also called ______ _______
specialized court
Several characteristics that distinguish specialty courts. there are four (4):
– Enhanced judicial oversight of juvenile
– Active case management
– Longer post-sentencing supervision
– Rehabilitation and restorative justice focus instead of punishment
and retributive justice
3 Types of specialized courts
Teen courts
Drug courts
Mental health courts
Teen court is effective and reduces recidivism more than trad juvi courts
true or false?
true
Drug courts
■ Typically include 5 things:
- Individualized and less adversarial procedures
- Treatment plans are consistent with the goals for each youth
- Sanctions and rewards are used to encourage prosocial behavior and
deter deviant behavior - Case management services
- High quality treatment
Drug courts ARE NOT effective and
Studies generally find that juvenile drug courts do not reduce
drug-related recidivism or reduce general recidivism more than
traditional juvenile court processes
T or F
True
__-__% of all youth in the JJ system have MH issues
– __% of incarcerated youth
50-60%
80%
MH courts
■ Variation across states, but key ideas:
- Most effective when they are just one component of youth’s MH
treatment - Most courts use a post-adjudication model—so youth must be adjudicated guilty then they go to the MH court for “sentencing”
- Most will accept felons or misdeamenants, but won’t accept for serious crimes
- MH courts all have their own criteria for admission (type of diagnosis,
etc.)
Exclusions for mental health courts:
Only certain youth can participate:
■ Those with serious mental health issues who did not commit a violent
crime
■ No one who committed the following can participate: murder, arson,
rape, or a gang member
■ Some courts only allow those with co-occurring disorders
■ Some courts exclude those with conduct disorders
Mental health court is VERY EFFECTIVE and can reduce recid by up to 74%
T or F
T
Different types of waiver:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
- Boundary ages
■ Judicial waiver
■ Statutory exclusion
■ Direct filings
■ Reverse judicial waiver
■ Blended systems
■ Once an adult always an adult
Some youth are automatically handled in adult court because they are
over the upper age limit of the juvenile justice system
■ Texas: over 16 years old
■ Most states set this limit at 17—so they are automatically handled by
adult system at 18
■ Age = The time of offense
Boundary ages
Traditional way
■ Judicial = judge
■ JPO wants to waive–>special waiver hearing and judge determines,
based on facts presented, if juvenile should be waived
– Based on criteria—no standard across states
Judicial Waiver
AKA: automatic waiver
■ States have laws that state that certain youth are automatically
waived (no special hearing needed)
– Based on combo of age, crime, and prior record
■ Very little discretion by judges/prosecutors
– Prosecutor has some role here
■ They determine what to charge youth with, which can affect whether
waived
– Some states require special hearings where judges determine
whether enough probable cause that youth committed the
excluded crime
Statutory exclusion
Aka: Prosecutorial waivers/discretionary waivers
■ Prosecutor makes decision whether to file case in juvenile or adult
court
– No hearing necessary
■ After the 1990s, more and more states allowed direct filings
– Expanded prosecutorial power
Direct filings
Not a way juveniles end up in adult court
■ It’s a way that adult judges can send the case back to the juvenile
court
– Not serious enough for adult court
– CJ system not equipped to handle that youth
■ 50% of states have reverse judicial waiver
Reverse judicial waiver
Called ”determinate sentences” here
■ Juvenile court can impose a sentence up to 40 years
– State requires youth spend a minimum amount of time in
residential placement before being moved to adult prison
– In juvenile facility youth are given chance to rehabilitate, if they
do, released
■ If not, then transferred to adult prison for rest of sentence at 19
■ Juvenile justice system handles the case, but they sentence them to
an adult sentence (i.e., adult facility)
■ Typically: split sentence
– JJS sentences them to serve X amount of time in juvenile sanction
and X amount of time in adult
■ Example: serve in residential facility until 18, then transferred to
adult prison for X number of years
■ States with this option:
– Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio,
Rhode Island, and Texas
Blended systems
Most common offense for blended / determinate sentences in texas:
Most common offenses:
– Aggravated robbery (35%)
– Aggravated sexual assault (21%)
– Aggravated assault (15%)
– Murder (10%)
Average lenght for determinate
5-10 years
■ Requires that any youth that has been waived to the adult court to
always be handled by the adult court for any subsequent cases
■ Many states have limits though
– Not eligible for subsequent status offenses or low-level offenses
■ Texas, Florida, North Carolina: examples of states with this law
once an adult always an adult
Juvi waiver is DOWN
T or F
T
5 consequences of waiver:
■ Loss of right to a hearing
■ Sentences
■ Adult prison
■ Long-term prospects
■ Youth of color
Decisions to detain youth:
1)
2)
3)
danger to self
danger to others
risk of flight
Detention rates are LOWER today than in the past
T or F
T
