NCJ Number
101701
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 76 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1985) Pages: 439-479
Date Published
1985
Length
41 pages
Annotation
This article examines the contemporary debate over juvenile courts between due process liberals and crime control conservatives and then describes how the juvenile codes are applied in a major metropolitan district, Dade County (Miami), Fla.
Abstract
A history review of the juvenile justice system emphasizes two points: the parens patriae defense for the informal and often arbitrary procedures in the juvenile system is fundamentally flawed in terms of historical adequacy, and opposition to legal policies which diminish juveniles' due process rights is rooted as far back as the movement to establish a separate juvenile system. In the contemporary context, judicial decisions that expanded juveniles' due process rights and reactions to these decisions are discussed. The paper summarizes features of Florida's juvenile law and analyzes all cases involving juvenile defendants processed by Felony Division prosecutors in 1981. This analysis shows that Florida has a three tier juvenile system: most juveniles enter and never leave the first tier where defendants are accorded substantial due process rights; a nontraditional second tier is attentive to both juveniles' needs and to public safety within the context of a fully adversarial justice system; and a third traditional tier is committed more to retribution than rehabilitation. 118 footnotes.