CJ 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 71: Parens Patriae, Juvenile Court, Ethnocentrism
Juveniles' Responsibilities and Rights
Prior to the 1900s, juvenile lawbreakers were treated like adult offenders. Beginning with the
Illinois Juvenile Court Act in 1899, children were treated differently. This Illinois law authorized
a separate children's court to hear cases of delinquent, dependent, and neglected children. The
invention of the juvenile court was based on the doctrine of parens patriae, meaning “the state as
parent.” Bent on saving children from becoming criminals, reformers advocated transferring the
responsibilities for protecting children from families to special children's courts. By bringing
wayward children under the control of the juvenile court, the court could manage the affairs of
children in the manner of a caring father and mother dealing with their children.
Undergirding parens patriae was the ethnocentric view that many immigrant parents were
unsuitable as parents, and this notion, in turn, justified the expanded legal powers of the court.
A central premise of the juvenile court is that juveniles and adults should be treated
differently. It is assumed that adolescents have less responsibility for their acts and
need protection. Therefore, it follows that juveniles should receive less than the full adult
penalties for their misconduct. In addition, informal procedures are preferred for
handling juvenile cases, and discretionary processes are the norm. For example,
most states have instituted juvenile codes patterned after the Illinois model.
The architects of these laws based their models on the adult criminal court system,
while eliminating most of the procedural safeguards protecting constitutional rights of
persons accused of crimes. The court was to be paternalistic instead of adversarial.
Following the logic of parens patriae, it was assumed that formal procedures that
ensure constitutional rights for juveniles are unnecessary because the court is
committed to looking out for the best interests of children.
Under the parens patriae philosophy, the goal of the juvenile court
became individualized justice. Judges and other decision makers in the juvenile
justice system were encouraged to look beyond a youth's alleged crimes to the best
interests of the child. Tailoring decisions to the needs of the individual child led them to
base discretionary judgments on social characteristics of offenders such as race, sex,
age, family status, and social class. Such reliance on nonlegal factors has resulted in
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Document Summary
Prior to the 1900s, juvenile lawbreakers were treated like adult offenders. Illinois juvenile court act in 1899, children were treated differently. This illinois law authorized a separate children"s court to hear cases of delinquent, dependent, and neglected children. By bringing wayward children under the control of the juvenile court, the court could manage the affairs of children in the manner of a caring father and mother dealing with their children. Undergirding parens patriae was the ethnocentric view that many immigrant parents were unsuitable as parents, and this notion, in turn, justified the expanded legal powers of the court. A central premise of the juvenile court is that juveniles and adults should be treated differently. It is assumed that adolescents have less responsibility for their acts and need protection. Therefore, it follows that juveniles should receive less than the full adult penalties for their misconduct. In addition, informal procedures are preferred for handling juvenile cases, and discretionary processes are the norm.
