CJ 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 70: Juvenile Court, Juvenile Delinquency
Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults?
Since the juvenile court was started more than a hundred years ago, a basic assumption
underlying the juvenile court has been that juvenile offenders shouldn't go through the adult
criminal courts. The juvenile court was created to handle juvenile offenders on the basis of their
youth rather than their crimes. The purpose of juvenile court is treatment and guidance rather
than punishment. During the 1980s and 1990s, the public called for getting tough with juveniles
and trying them as adults. Many states passed laws making it easier to try certain youthful
offenders as adults; some states considered the radical proposal of abolishing juvenile courts.
Juvenile courts should be abolished
Supporters of getting rid of juvenile courts center their arguments on the need to punish
juvenile criminals and a concern for juveniles' rights.
1. The juvenile court is founded on false premises because its purpose is to shield
youths from the consequences of their own actions.
2. The juvenile court fails to deter juvenile violence.
3. The current juvenile crime problem requires that we punish juvenile offenders in
order to deter the next generation of juveniles from becoming predators.
4. Justice demands that juvenile courts be abolished—if juveniles are tried in adult
courts, they will be afforded their full array of constitutional rights.
Juvenile courts should not be abolished
Many experts believe abolishing the juvenile court will only make matters worse.
1. The premise of the juvenile court is sound—since children have not fully
matured, they shouldn't be held to the same standards of accountability as
adults.
2. The purpose of the juvenile court is to treat, not to deter.
3. Changing the social environment in which juveniles live is a more effective way to
reduce juvenile violence than punishing juvenile offenders in adult courts.
4. While the denial of full constitutional rights for juveniles is sometimes a problem,
the juvenile court's mission is benevolence—to serve the best interests of
children.
Evaluating the case for abolishing juvenile courts
It has been suggested that the entire debate over whether or not to abolish the juvenile
court diverts attention away from the most important question confronting the juvenile
justice system: How can juvenile delinquency be reduced when neither the present
juvenile courts nor adult criminal courts are designed to attack the various
environmental factors that are among the causes of juvenile violence?
The initial causes of much juvenile crime are found in the early learning experiences in
the family. They involve weak family bonding and ineffective supervision, child abuse
and neglect, and inconsistent and harsh discipline. In addition, there are indications that
very poor urban communities put youths at greater risk for involvement in violence.
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Document Summary
Since the juvenile court was started more than a hundred years ago, a basic assumption underlying the juvenile court has been that juvenile offenders shouldn"t go through the adult criminal courts. The juvenile court was created to handle juvenile offenders on the basis of their youth rather than their crimes. The purpose of juvenile court is treatment and guidance rather than punishment. During the 1980s and 1990s, the public called for getting tough with juveniles and trying them as adults. Many states passed laws making it easier to try certain youthful offenders as adults; some states considered the radical proposal of abolishing juvenile courts. The initial causes of much juvenile crime are found in the early learning experiences in the family. They involve weak family bonding and ineffective supervision, child abuse and neglect, and inconsistent and harsh discipline. In addition, there are indications that very poor urban communities put youths at greater risk for involvement in violence.
