Verified Document

Juvenile Justice System Research Paper

¶ … Juvenile Justice System - Contemporary Juvenile Justice System and Juvenile Detention Alternatives" by William W. Patton (2012) The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution extended the protections afforded by the Bill of Rights to all American citizens, including juveniles. Today, juveniles in the United States, though, are considered special cases that require a different adjudicative approach than that provided adult offenders, but it has not always been this way. In fact, until the end of the 19th century, juveniles in the United States who became involved with the criminal justice system were treated in the much the same fashion as adults. By the fin de siecle, reforms had been made to adjudicate youthful offenders in separate channels from adults. Nevertheless, critics maintain that the American criminal justice system continues to respond to periodic calls from the general public for harsher treatment of repeat juvenile offenders in ways that deny them the due process that these young people need to overcome their behaviors and become contributing citizens. To gain some fresh insights into these issues, this paper provides a summary and review of the essay, "Juvenile Justice System - Contemporary Juvenile Justice System and Juvenile Detention Alternatives" by William W. Patton (2012), followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Summary and Review

Prior to the turn of the 20th century, juveniles in America were largely adjudicated in the same fashion as adults, and children as young as 7 years of age were routinely incarcerated with adult offenders. In response to demands from reformers, special courts and procedures were implemented across the country to handle youthful offenders separately from adults in an effort to rehabilitate them rather than punish them. By the mid-20th century, though, it became increasingly clear that the laudable goals of the reformers for youthful offenders had not been achieved. According to Patton, "From the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s the U.S. Supreme Court on several occasions held that the informal structures of the nineteenth century juvenile court denied juveniles due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution" (para. 3).
During the period from 1980 to 2000, the American public developed the erroneous perception that juvenile crime was on the upswing and there were increasing calls for stronger measures against these youthful offenders. These erroneous perceptions were fueled in large part by media reports that sensationalized isolated cases and these high-profile cases painted the juvenile…

Sources used in this document:
References

Patton, W.W. (2012). Juvenile Justice System - Contemporary Juvenile Justice System and Juvenile Detention Alternatives. StateUniversity.com. Retrieved from http://education.

stateuniversity.com/pages/2141/Juvenile-Justice-System-CONTEMPORARY-JUVENILE-JUSTICE-SYSTEM-JUVENILE-DETENTION-ALTERNATIVES.html# ixzz27r2VvLXY.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Juvenile Justice System Currently Faces a Number
Words: 1198 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Juvenile Justice System currently faces a number of challenges in dealing with delinquency. Many of those problems are underlying problems such as mental health issues, child abuse, child neglect, lack of funding, and the disconnection between professions dealing with children, all of which contribute to delinquency. The high incidence of child abuse and child neglect, in particularly, have been directly linked to delinquency and must be sufficiently addressed. In the

Juvenile Justice System Do You
Words: 2287 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

In principle, the United States should follow international treaties only if it is a signatory to that specific treaty. However, the Supreme Court of the United States cannot ignore international standards completely either. There are several reasons for this. The world is becoming more and more globalized. Large numbers of immigrants have flocked to the United States in the last several decades and likewise American military and the FBI increasingly

Juvenile Justice System Ireland the Objective of
Words: 1351 Length: 5 Document Type: Dissertation or Thesis complete

Juvenile Justice System Ireland The objective of this work is to examine the juvenile justice system in Ireland and then to compare it with the juvenile justice system of the United States. Additionally, the strengths and weaknesses of the juvenile justice system in Ireland will be examined as well as what improvements might could be made to the system, what the U.S. could learn from Ireland, and what aspects of each

Juvenile Justice System Is More Than a
Words: 677 Length: 2 Document Type: Discussion Chapter

Juvenile justice system is more than a century old, there are still significant controversies involved in terms of public policy and specific penalties. This is especially the case with severe crimes that, in adult courts, would result in life without parole or the death penalty. In the juvenile system, public policy has at best been somewhat confused regarding the best way to penalize youthful persons who engage in severe criminal

Juvenile Delinquency and the Juvenile Justice System
Words: 1855 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

Juvenile Delinquency and the Juvenile Justice System Juveniles are represented either in the legal system through the juvenile family court designed for children many years ago or by the criminal court system meant for adults. The criminal court system is opted for children suspected of committing serious crimes although transfer is possible from juvenile justice system into adult court system. This legal system has been the source of problems for all

Juvenile Justice System
Words: 1198 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

juvenile justice system in America. The writer discusses the start of the system and the major changes that have taken place in the system over the past 100 years. There were four sources used to complete this paper. Following events such as Columbine the American public began to demand a re-evaluation of the juvenile justice system in this nation. What many people do not know is that the American juvenile

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now