juvenile justice system
The juvenile justice system is an intricate system that has raised a lot of arguments and questions over the years. We have seen people arguing that juveniles be charged and convicted as adults for the crimes that they have committed. Other have argued that the minimum and the maximum ages of juveniles to be dealt with the system has to be raised. Juveniles that are taken to the justice system are usually screened and assessed by different individuals and organizations. All the charges that are pressed against them have to be reviewed for their legal sufficiency, and a formal process is used by the court to find them culpable of the criminal acts against them.
Recommended Maximum and Minimum Ages of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction
With the many controversies associated with the age at which a juvenile ha to be charged and convicted, from my point of view, the minimum age at which they should be convicted should be 13 years and the maximum age should be 18 years. At age 13 to 17, they still young and should only be subjected to a juvenile justice system instead of the adult system. Between these ages, children do not have consent and do not know any better as an individual that is 18 years old. Individuals that are between these ages are more of adolescents that need guidance and rehabilitation as opposed to the destructive punishments that many adult law courts will offer (Mccord et al., 2001). This will most certainly encourage judges to act in the best interest of every child that is brought before him/her (Mccord et al., 2001).
Various factors led me to choose these ages. For instance, with these ages, the future of the society will be in safe hands because after the child is rehabilitated, every information about their actions will be confidential and inaccessible to the public (Mccord et al., 2001). This will prevent the public from interfering with the reintegration of a juvenile offender back to society. Another factor is that children will be treated much differently than adult criminals to make them feel that they are still accepted by society despite their actions. For example, the usual language that is used in adult courts will be eliminated. Juveniles will not be termed as charged with criminal offences but with delinquencies, they won’t be found guilty but adjudicated delinquent (Mccord et al., 2001). Lastly, they won’t be sent to prisons but reformatories or training schools.
Decision on Jeremy’s Assault
In the case of Jeremy, the minor injuries he caused to his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend can be described as a misdemeanour (Mince-Didier, n.d.). Since he is a good boy and has never been caught in any offences before, I can go about his situation suing various approaches. For instance, I can decide to put Jeremy on probation and in the event that is caught in another infraction he will face serious actions. On the hand, I can decide that he pays all the expenses that have been attributed to the injuries and also send him to an anger management class (Mince-Didier, n.d.). This will teach him a lesson so that he does not repeat the same ever again. Moreover, attending anger management classes will help him maintain his composure whenever he is caught up in a bad situation. This class will also help him find other ways to solve challenges that he may face in future and prevent him from being controlled by his emotions.
While determining this, various factors can be said to have attributed to my conclusion. For instance, knowing that this was the first offence that Jeremy was brought in with indicates that he is not a serial offender and that there must have been a misunderstanding with the parties involved leading to the assault (Factors Considered in Determining Sentences – FindLaw, 2017). Thus, it might have been a one-time thing that would not happen again if the child is guided and the appropriate punishment administered. Another factor is that the assault in question was committed in a manner that was not likely to result in anyone being hurt. It was not the intention of Jeremy to push his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend over the flight of stairs (Factors Considered in Determining Sentences – FindLaw, 2017). These helped me to assess the situation and come up with my decision. The decision made above is logical because it views everything from various angles helping me to understand what happened, how it happened and what would be the appropriate cause of action to take.
Original Assumptions Still Practiced
Over the years ever since the juvenile justice system was formed, there have been a lot of reforms to try and make the system as effective as possible. For instance, the justice system stopped treating children as adults and convicting as adults, the reduction and increase of the maximum and minimum ages of juveniles when it comes to the juvenile jurisdiction (Mccord et al., 2001). Furthermore, it is difficult to tell which original assumptions are still in play because in the U.S., among 51 states, each has a different juvenile justice system and they all approach the matter differently (Mccord et al., 2001). Moreover, within a state, how the cases are conducted within a county to county and municipality to a municipality is different (Mccord et al., 2001). This makes it very difficult to arrive a conclusive answer on the assumptions that are still practised by the juvenile system.
Eras of Juvenile Justice
Traditional
During this era, children were thought to indulge in criminal activities because of factors such as immigration. While immigrating, people would have a hard time attaining their basic need and as such would result in indulging in criminal activities to survive (ImpactLaw, 2019). Moreover, children would indulge in criminal activity because of urbanization because they would try to fit in with the rest of society as development was taking place (ImpactLaw, 2019). To cure Robert in this era, he would be thrown into prison with adults so that he could learn his lesson in the process.
Due Process
Some of the factors that led to youth delinquency during this era were attributed to a lack of moral guidance and poor education standards. A youth that was not adequately guided was seen to be involved with criminal activities because they lacked good morals that would guide them in their lives (ImpactLaw, 2019). If Robert lived in this era, he would have been sent to a detention centre for youths because this looked like a way to ensure that he gets the moral guidance and education to enlighten him on what to do with his life.
Punitive
This is the most recent era in juvenile criminal justice. In this era, people are much enlightened and have different perspectives on various things that take place in society. In the case of Robert, some of the things that could have led to his actions include peer pressure, abuse of substance, violence at home and social circles (Phelps, 2011). All these have detrimental effects on a child and can lead them to commit crimes (Phelps, 2011). To rectify his behaviour, Robert would be sent in a reformatory where he will be rehabilitated and reintegrated back into society.
Conclusion
The juvenile justice system is a minefield that a society has to navigate through carefully without putting its future at stake. It is understandable that many youths are deviants and will always go out of their way to commit crimes while others will by mistake find themselves in such positions. As such, it is important that a functional and effective juvenile justice system be put in place to help in rehabilitating them and reintegrating them back into society. Reforms on this system will continue to take place for a very time because of the different perspectives that people have concerning the issue. Thus, agreeing to a single philosophy will be unlikely.