NCJ Number
181990
Journal
Juvenile Justice Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: December 1999 Pages: 13-21
Date Published
1999
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article reviews significant events in the evolution of the juvenile court from its beginning in 1899 to the present day.
Abstract
Early in the 19th century, juveniles were tried as adults in criminal courts. Children under age 7 were immune from prosecution, and children between the ages of 7 and 14 were presumed not to be criminally responsible, requiring prosecutors to prove that an individual juvenile was culpable under the law. Youths aged 14 and older were deemed responsible for their criminal acts as adults. Houses of refuge emerged to provide vocational training and education for youth convicted of crimes; these evolved into reformatories in the middle of the 19th century, which separated incarcerated youth from adults, but provided a more punitive confinement than houses of refuge. In a wave of public reaction to the abusive treatment of youth in the criminal justice system, the first juvenile court system was created under the Illinois Juvenile Court Act in 1899. This law created a special court for neglected, dependent, or delinquent children under age 16; defined a rehabilitation rather than punitive purpose for the court; established confidentiality for juvenile records; and required that juveniles be separated from adults when placed in the same institution. Juvenile courts subsequently spread rapidly across the country. The evolution of the juvenile court has seen the professionalization of court staff, separate handling for juvenile status offenders, and court decisions that have mandated due process rights for juveniles. The Federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 set national goals for the rehabilitation and reform of juvenile justice and established a Federal-State partnership for the implementation of these goals. 12 notes and 11 references