NCJ Number
200513
Date Published
2002
Length
43 pages
Annotation
This chapter focuses on the combination of philosophy, policy, and law that determine how youths are treated within the juvenile justice system.
Abstract
Discussing the ways that law and policy are shaped by research, the author explains that the term “law” typically refers to both written and unwritten laws for both lawyers and judges. The author presents a series of “brain exercises” early on in this chapter so that the reader may consider what constitutes various statutes and codes throughout the different States. The author defines public policy as whatever the government chooses to do or not to do and explains that governmental activities, the political system, and substantive and procedural policies all influence public policy, which, in turn, impacts society as a whole. Discussing the individuals and groups who possess the power to influence both politics and the legal system, the author describes the power held by corporations, member-based special interest groups, single groups, and public groups. Turning to a discussion of corporate welfare, the author details the actions taken by local, State, and Federal governments that allow certain corporations or industries benefits not offered to others. Contending that 40 percent of America’s children live below the poverty level, the author describes elite power groups that influence political and legal issues affecting children. Describing theories of lawmaking, the author summarizes the consensus model and the conflict and radical theory model before discussing the impact of law and public policy on children within the legal system in the United States and in countries without a free market economy.