Juvenile Justice System Research Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 870 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1

Page 1 of 3

Juvenile Justice System - Contemporary Juvenile Justice System and Juvenile Detention Alternatives" by William W. Patton (2012)

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution extended the protections afforded by the Bill of Rights to all American citizens, including juveniles. Today, juveniles in the United States, though, are considered special cases that require a different adjudicative approach than that provided adult offenders, but it has not always been this way. In fact, until the end of the 19th century, juveniles in the United States who became involved with the criminal justice system were treated in the much the same fashion as adults. By the fin de siecle, reforms had been made to adjudicate youthful offenders in separate channels from adults. Nevertheless, critics maintain that the American criminal justice system continues to respond to periodic calls from the general public for harsher treatment of repeat juvenile offenders in ways that deny them the due process that these young people need to overcome their behaviors and become contributing citizens. To gain some fresh insights into these issues, this paper provides a summary and review of the essay, "Juvenile Justice System - Contemporary Juvenile Justice System and Juvenile Detention Alternatives" by William W. Patton (2012), followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Summary and Review

Although the juvenile criminal justice system is taken for granted today, it took 125 years for the United States to recognize the need for a special venue to hear juvenile criminal cases.

Stuck Writing Your "Juvenile Justice System" Research Paper?

View All Our Example Juvenile Justice System Research Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

Prior to the turn of the 20th century, juveniles in America were largely adjudicated in the same fashion as adults, and children as young as 7 years of age were routinely incarcerated with adult offenders. In response to demands from reformers, special courts and procedures were implemented across the country to handle youthful offenders separately from adults in an effort to rehabilitate them rather than punish them. By the mid-20th century, though, it became increasingly clear that the laudable goals of the reformers for youthful offenders had not been achieved. According to Patton, "From the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s the U.S. Supreme Court on several occasions held that the informal structures of the nineteenth century juvenile court denied juveniles due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution" (para. 3).

During the period from 1980 to 2000, the American public developed the erroneous perception that juvenile crime was on the upswing and there were increasing calls for stronger measures against these youthful offenders. These erroneous perceptions were fueled in large part by media reports that sensationalized isolated cases and these high-profile….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


Related Essays

Juvenile Delinquency Essay

juvenile justice system has been inadequate” (nap.edu). Hence the more that the statistics show growing numbers of violent adolescents and teenagers, the more that policymakers fight for harsher penalties for these incidents. However, while arrest data is valuable in tracking the flow of crime, as the table above demonstrates, there are limitations to relying exclusively on arrest data. Arrest statistics don’t always accurately encapsulate the actual number of people arrest each year, largely because a variable quantity of people may be arrested more than one time annually (nap.edu). Furthermore, for… Continue Reading...

Broken Arrow Brothers: A Criminological Analysis

was only sixteen at the time of the crime demonstrates the relevance of a separate juvenile justice system, suggesting that trying juveniles as adults can indeed prove problematic. “Adolescents are more likely to kill because the normal turbulence of adolescence runs up against constraints they perceive have been placed upon them in a setting of limited alternatives,” (Heide, 2016, p. 1). The main factors to consider in the Broken Arrow case include the unique features of juvenile familicide, the role of child abuse and related trauma; and the role mental illness plays in cases like these. Motives The Broken Arrow case bears almost all the… Continue Reading...

sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Juvenile Justice System" (2012, September 29) Retrieved May 4, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/juvenile-justice-system-75680

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Juvenile Justice System" 29 September 2012. Web.4 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/juvenile-justice-system-75680>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Juvenile Justice System", 29 September 2012, Accessed.4 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/juvenile-justice-system-75680
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example