The Development of Juvenile Justice
Evolution of Juvenile Justice
Kent Vs. the United States
One of the cases that I believe made a significant impact on the evolution of juvenile justice is Kent vs. the United States. This case changed the belief on the role of juvenile courts in wavering juvenile cases that it felt could not be supported by the state-sponsored programs. This procedure by juvenile cases led to the trial of juveniles in adult cases. An investigation was required to take place, but only some juveniles had the luck of their arguments being heard in formal proceedings. After failing to get his part of the argument to a juvenile court, Kent appealed his alleged rape case all the way to the Supreme Court (Sixth Amendment center, 2020). The Supreme Court was presented with a question as to whether a juvenile had a right to be heard. The court was also questioned on whether this right contained the right to due process in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States constitution.
The Supreme Court’s invalidation of the waiver due to the failure of the juvenile court to conduct a full investigation led to changes in the juvenile justice system. The ruling made by the court ushered in many reforms in the legal justice system, which contributed to the increased constitutional protection of juveniles (“Kent v. United States – Significance,” 2020). The juvenile courts stated to allow juveniles to access relevant information pertaining to the case. It also led to the start of having hearings for juvenile’s argument at juvenile courts before a waiver takes place (Team, 2020). The juvenile was allowed to challenge evidence as part of the juvenile court’s full investigation process. The juvenile courts started being more responsible as they were required to give valid reasons for making a waiver.
In re Gault
Gault was on probation when police took him to custody for allegedly making an obscene call to a female. The officer made no notification to the parents, nor did the probation officer serve them with a petition for a preliminary hearing. The juvenile was not given a chance to cross-examine witnesses as the accuser was not even present at the court. The judge had adjudicated the child based on their own statements, which led to disapproval by the child’s parent. They made a series of unheard appeals until they reached the US Supreme Court (“In re Gault – Significance,” 2020). The ruling of the Supreme Court ushered new changes to juvenile justice. The court considered juvenile cases as an adversarial proceeding that calls for the application of rights enjoyed by adults. This ruling led to the application of adult due process rights on the cases of accused juveniles. The rights that have were incorporated in the due process of juvenile justice include the right to an advocate, the right to cross-examine witnesses, and the right to be notified about the charges, among others.
In re Winship
A judge had convicted a 12 years boy based on the preponderance of the evidence, which made a person guilty based on the belief of the judge. The Supreme Court was presented with a question on the weight of evidence to be used in adjudicating a juvenile delinquent. The ruling of the court ushered new reforms to the juvenile justice (“In the Matter of Samuel WINSHIP, Appellant.”, 2020). The Supreme Court ruled that the case of a juvenile must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Since then, the prosecutors bear a heavy burden of proof in cases involving juveniles.
References
In re Gault – Significance. Law.jrank.org. (2020). Retrieved 22 June 2020, from https://law.jrank.org/pages/23788/In-re-Gault-Significance.html.
In the Matter of Samuel WINSHIP, Appellant.. LII / Legal Information Institute. (2020). Retrieved 23 June 2020, from https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/397/358.
Kent v. United States – Significance. Law.jrank.org. (2020). Retrieved 22 June 2020, from https://law.jrank.org/pages/23783/Kent-v-United-States-Significance.html.
Team, C. (2020). Kent v. United States – Case Summary and Case Brief. Legal Dictionary. Retrieved 22 June 2020, from https://legaldictionary.net/kent-v-united-states/.
The right to counsel for children in juvenile transfer hearings, Kent v. United States | Sixth Amendment Center. Sixthamendment.org. (2020). Retrieved 22 June 2020, from https://sixthamendment.org/the-right-to-counsel/history-of-the-right-to-counsel/the-right-to-counsel-for-children-in-juvenile-transfer-hearings/.