Juvenile Justice

“Juvenile Justice PowerPoint” by Stephanie Wiley for Open Oregon Educational Resources is licensed CC BY NC SA.

Objectives

17.1 Define delinquency & common examples

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17.2 Distinguish across eras of juvenile justice, including key movements & relevant Supreme Court Cases

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17.3 Identify current issues in delinquency & juvenile justice

What is Delinquency?

• Delinquency
• “Crime” committed by youth (< 18)
• Status offense: Illegal due to age
• Incorrigibility

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• Adult vs. Juvenile Justice System:
• Crime vs. Delinquency
• Trial vs. Hearing
• Indictment vs. Petition
• Guilty vs. Adjudicated
• Sentence vs. Disposition

Eras of Juvenile Justice

“Childhood”

Key Cases:

• Kent v. US (1966)
• In re Gault (1967)
• In re Winship (1970)
• Breed v. Jones (1975

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Key Cases:

• Roper v Simmons (2005)
• Graham v Florida (2010)
• Miller v Alabama (2012)
• Montgomery v Louisiana (2016)
• Jones v Mississippi (2021)

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Superpredators

Issues in Juvenile Delinquency & Justice

• Variability in age for juvenile/adult distinction
• Delinquent < age 17 in Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Texas, & Wisconsin

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• Transfer to adult court for certain crimes
• Automatic transfer: Legislative & Mandatory Waivers
• Judges & prosecutors also have discretion to transfer youth

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• The School-to-Prison Pipeline
• No evidence that School Resource Officers (SROs) keep students safer

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• Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC)
• School discipline & SROs increase avenues for DMC

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Recap

1. Delinquency is a social construct that differentiates youth “crime” from adult crime
• And it includes offenses that don’t exist for adults

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• Responses to juvenile offending have shifted from rehabilitation, to due process, to crime control
• We’re back to rehabilitation by recognizing that youth’s brains are different from adult’s

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• The school-to-prison pipeline is one issue that today’s youth face, & it increases disparities in the juvenile & criminal justice systems

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