NCJ Number
163663
Date Published
1997
Length
398 pages
Annotation
This text covers legal and procedural aspects of the juvenile justice system from both civil and criminal perspectives; inner workings of the juvenile justice system are illustrated using authentic case law, research, and behavioral sciences theory.
Abstract
The text is intended to help readers see children through the eyes of parents, police, social workers, defense attorneys, prosecuting attorneys, judges, and others who have an impact on children during their journey through the juvenile justice system. The first chapter reviews the history of juvenile justice and the treatment of juveniles, with emphasis on the social history of children and youth and the development of the juvenile court. The second chapter defines juvenile delinquency, status offenses, child abuse, and developmental stages of children. The third chapter examines search, seizure, investigation, and interrogation as important components of the juvenile justice system. The fourth chapter describes the juvenile justice process for delinquent youth. The focus is on the juvenile court (intake, detention, and waiver) and on delinquency in the computer age. The final three chapters deal with child abuse and neglect, crimes against children, and other hearings in the juvenile court (child custody, support, and termination of parental rights). Learning tools in the text include brain exercises and answers, mock trials, an explanation of how to brief a legal case, an explanation of how to abstract an article, margin notes, and edited versions of legal cases. Appendixes contain problems to solve and the U.S. Constitution. References, tables, and figures