NCJ Number
146354
Date Published
1993
Length
94 pages
Annotation
Using judicial opinions, legislative analysis, empirical research, and theoretical writings, this essay describes the transformation of the American juvenile justice system from a benevolent, therapeutic institution into a scaled-down criminal court for young offenders.
Abstract
The first section discusses the principles upon which the original juvenile court system was based and its subsequent constitutional domestication after the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision In re Gault. Sources of knowledge about juvenile justice and data-analytic techniques used to examine juvenile courts are outlined here. The discussion covers the shift from informal to formal procedures in juvenile justice administration following Gault, as well as the courts' legal and policy changes regarding both status offenders and serious offenders. The author concludes by documenting the jurisprudential shift in sentencing policy from treating delinquent offenders to punishing them. He outlines three alternatives to the current juvenile justice system: restructuring juvenile courts to fit their original therapeutic purpose, combining appropriate punishment with criminal procedural safeguards, and abolishing juvenile court jurisdiction over criminal conduct and trying young offenders in criminal courts after making certain substantive and procedural changes. 10 notes and 237 references