Juvenile Court Case Study

Introduction
Through the Progressive Era, the juvenile court was created. Visionaries, during this time, pursued the reinvention of the government in an attempt to ‘make it work honestly, responsibly, and well’. (Rubin, ND). Visionaries concluded that children were being destroyed by adult courts and penal systems. Their conclusions were correct. Visionaries also proposed that specialized consideration was required for children. It was unfair for children to not have a specialized due process that catered to their growing mindset. In 1899, the first juvenile court, in Chicago, was founded on the revolutionary message of children being different and focusing on their needs as opposed to what they had done. However, the efficiency of the juvenile …show more content…
Supreme Court pronounced the constitutionalization of the juvenile courts, “which ushered legal safeguards, legal procedures, and lawyers into these halls, and forever changed the nature of juvenile court proceedings”. (Rubin, ND). The Court ruled in response to the concerns of the earlier attorneys. Following the grave juvenile wave during 1987-1994, there was the exponential growth of removing the more chronic and serious juvenile offenders from juvenile to criminal courts. In response to the earlier concerns of law enforcement officials, the criminalization of juveniles was expanded. (Rubin, ND). There are a lot of benefits from the juvenile system policy. Instead of simply punishing the juvenile, they were being treated and rehabilitated so that they could later become productive additions to the society. The culmination of the shift of federal juvenile policy resulted in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) of 1974. “The intent of this bill was to deinstitutionalize status offenders, provide additional funds to communities to improve delinquency prevention programs. establish new mechanisms for dealing with runaway youths, and remove juveniles from adult jails and lockup facilities”. (Church, 2014). This act was important because juvenile justice should have a dedicated focus and a known position within federal government. Because of the apparent increase in school violence and vandalism, the JJDPA was amended in 1977 to allow …show more content…
This supports the argument that the Juvenile Justice Policy has to be improved to help and not hinder the young people who have to go through these proceedings. Although many positive things have resulted from the juvenile justice system, there is still many areas that are lacking in efficiency. The overhaul of the juvenile justice policy will not be an easy task. However, for the betterment of the affected juveniles, it is very necessary. The original principles of the juvenile justice system have been lost and somewhat forgotten throughout its evolution to keep with the ever-changing needs of the youth. There are more effective ways to evolve with the times while still maintaining the integrity of the juvenile justice policy. The juvenile justice policy was created to ensure the specialized needs of the youth were addressed, unlike when juveniles had to endure the court proceedings in the adult courts system. If the recommendations drawn from the expert research are effectively implemented, then the outcomes of the juvenile justice policy can be positive. The rehabilitation of the juveniles would have a better outcome when their personal needs are considered and the people who are involved in these proceedings are properly trained. The juvenile justice policy should not be too lenient on the juveniles and should be executed on a case by case basis. With these

Show More