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Aspect of American justice system

The American juvenile justice system is the primary system used to handle minors who are convicted of criminal offenses. The system is composed of a federal and many separate state, territorial, and local jurisdictions, with states and the federal government sharing sovereign police power under the common authority of the United States Constitution. The juvenile justice system intervenes in delinquent behavior through police, court, and correctional involvement, with the goal of rehabilitation. Youth and their guardians can face a variety of consequences including probation, community service, youth court, youth incarceration and alternative schooling. The juvenile justice system, similar to the adult system, operates from a belief that intervening early in delinquent behavior will deter adolescents from engaging in criminal behavior as adults.

Juvenile delinquency punishments trace back to the Middle Ages when crimes were severely punished by the Church. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, few legal differences existed between children and adults. Children as young as six and seven years were considered productive members of the family and their labor contributed to family income. In court, children as young as seven were treated as adults and could receive the death penalty. With the changing demographic, social, and economic context of the 19th century resulting largely from industrialization, "the social construction of childhood as a period of dependency and exclusion from the adult world" was institutionalized. This century saw the opening of the first programs targeting juvenile delinquency. Barry Krisberg and James F. Austin note that the first ever institution dedicated to juvenile delinquency was the New York House of Refuge in 1825. Other programs, described by Finley, included: "houses of refuge", which emphasized moral rehabilitation; "reform schools", which had widespread reputations for mistreatment of the children living there; and "child saving organizations", social charity agencies dedicated to reforming poor and delinquent children. Since these decisions were carried out "in the best interest of the child," the due process protections afforded adult criminals were not extended to juveniles.

The nation's first juvenile court was formed in Illinois in 1899 and provided a legal distinction between juvenile abandonment and crime. The law that established the court, the Illinois Juvenile Court Law of 1899, was created largely because of the advocacy of women such as Jane Addams, Louise DeKoven Bowen, Lucy Flower and Julia Lathrop, who were members of the influential Chicago Woman's Club. The Chicago court opened on July 1, 1899 with Judge Tuthill presiding, along with several members of the Chicago Woman's Club who acted as advisors about the juvenile offender's backgrounds. Establishing a juvenile court helped reframe cultural and legal interpretations of "the best interests of the child." The underlying assumption of the original juvenile system, and one that continues to prevail, was that juveniles were generally more amenable to rehabilitation than adult criminals. This new application of parens patriae and the development of a separate juvenile court formed the foundation for the modern juvenile justice system. After states began passing compulsory education laws in the second half of the nineteenth century, repeated acts of truancy could land students in state juvenile courts. In enforcing the truancy laws, Progressive Era judges and educators relied on teachers' report cards to monitor the behavior of probationers. Report cards often categorized truants as disobedient and unyielding. The creation of the juvenile justice system in Chicago coincided with the migration of southern black families to the North. A combination of factors like lack of parental supervision and extreme poverty left black children vulnerable. In one case a 13 year old Kentuckian was accused of "habitual truancy" by the principal of his school, which would have been a violation of compulsory education laws, but the principal herself admitted that his attendance was perfect and that she had filed a petition for him to be sent to a Parental School because his parents were not giving him adequate care and "something should be done to keep him off the streets and away from bad company".

The debate about morality and effectiveness surrounded juvenile courts until the 1950s. The 1960s through the 1980s saw a rise in attention to and speculation about juvenile delinquency, as well as concern about the court system as a social issue. This era was characterized by distinctly harsh punishments for youths. "community based programs, diversion, and deinstitutionalization became the banners of juvenile justice policy in the 1970's". However, these alternative approaches were short lived. The rising crime rates of the 1960s and media misrepresentation of this crime throughout the 1970s and 80s, paved the way for Reagan's War on Drugs and subsequent "tough on crime" policies. Heightened fears of a 'youth problem' "revealed white, middle and upper class anxieties about growing social unrest and the potential volatility stemming from social and economic inequality". Public perception of juvenile deviance was such that at the 1999 Juvenile Justice Hearings, Bill McCollum claimed "simply and sadly put: Today in America no population poses a larger threat to public safety than juvenile offenders". In the late 1980s, the United States experienced a large increase in crime, and juvenile crime was brought into public view (Juvenile delinquency in the United States). Americans feared a "juvenile super predator", and this fear was met by the government with harsher policies for juvenile crime.

Many scholars stress the importance of reforming the juvenile justice system to increase its effectiveness and avoid discrimination. Finley argues for early intervention in juvenile delinquency, and advocates for the development of programs that are more centered on rehabilitation rather than punishment. Zimring and Tannenhaus also discuss the future of the juvenile justice system in the United States. They argue that educational reentry programs should be developed and given high importance alongside policies of dropout prevention. Reentry programs focus on providing care and support to juveniles after being released from detention facilities, and encouraging family support to help adolescents during this adjustment period. They also argue for the elimination of juvenile sex offender registration requirements, and the reform of criminal record information for juvenile offenders. Widespread implementation of PYD approaches in the juvenile justice system faces many challenges. Philosophically however, the PYD framework resembles the progressive era ideals that informed the creation of the first juvenile court. As Butts, Mayer and Ruther describe, "The concepts underlying PYD resemble those that led to the founding of the american juvenile justice system more than a century ago. [ ] Organizers of the first juvenile courts saw the solution to delinquency in better schools, community organizations, public health measures, and family supports. They believed an improved social environmental would encourage youth to embrace pro social norms." Integration of PYD into the juvenile justice system is informed by social learning theory and social control theory. Taken together, these theories suggest that "youth are less attracted to criminal behavior when they are involved with others, learning useful skills, being rewarded for using those skills, enjoying strong relationships and forming attachments, and earning the respect of their communities". This is in stark contrast to the theories of deterrence and retributive justice espoused by the current justice system.

Youth courts are programs in which youth sentence their peers for minor delinquent and status offenses and other problem behaviors. The program philosophy is to hold youth responsible for problem behavior, educate youth about the legal and judicial systems, and empower youth to be active in solving problems in their community. Youth courts function to determine fair and restorative sentences or dispositions for the youth respondent. Youth court programs can be administered by juvenile courts, juvenile probation departments, law enforcement, private nonprofit organizations, and schools. Youth court programs operate under four primary models: Adult Judge, Youth Judge, Peer Jury, and Youth Tribunal Models. Under the adult judge model, an adult volunteer serves as the judge while youth volunteers serve as prosecuting and defense attorneys, jurors, clerks, and bailiffs. Under the youth judge model, youth volunteers fill all roles, including judge. Under a peer jury model, youth jurors question the respondents and make sentencing determinations. Under a youth tribunal model, youth serve as prosecuting and defense attorneys, and present their cases to a panel of youth judges, who then make a sentencing determination. To date, there are no comprehensive national guidelines for youth courts, but rather, courts operate under and are tailored to their local jurisdictions. To date, there are more than 675 youth courts in the United States. East Palo Alto and Boston have both implemented youth courts. The East Palo Alto youth court is based on restorative justice principles. Eligible youth must admit the facts of the case, after which youth attorneys explain the facts of the case to a youth jury. In Boston, youth court is available to first time, low level offenders. It is based on a restorative justice framework.

Restorative justice is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of the victims and the offenders, and the involved community, rather than punishing the offender. Victims and offenders both take an active role in the process, with the latter being encouraged to take responsibility for their actions. Doing so is an attempt by offenders to repair the harm they've done and also provides help for the offender in order to prevent future offenses. Restorative justice is based on a theory of justice that views crime to be an offense against an individual and/or a community, versus the state. Programs that promote dialogue between victim and offender demonstrate the highest rates of victim satisfaction and offender accountability. Restorative justice practices have been implemented in schools that experience higher rates of violence or crime. This can catch the juvenile before they're involved in the justice system and can change discipline into a learning opportunity. It encourages accountability, supportive climates, appropriate listening and responding and contributes to a development of empathy for the offender. The difference between student exclusion and restorative approaches is shown through not only low recidivism, but school climates. With restorative approaches focusing on relationships, it prioritizes interpersonal connections which creates an overall better community. The underlying thesis of restorative practices is that ‘‘human beings are happier, more cooperative and productive, and more likely to make positive changes in their behavior when those in positions of authority do things with them, rather than to or for them.’’

Many advocates argue that the juvenile system should extend to include young adults 18 or older (the age that most systems use as a cut off). Research in neurobiology and developmental psychology show that young adults' brains do not finish developing until their mid 20s, well beyond the age of criminal responsibility in most states. Other non criminal justice systems acknowledge these differences between adults and young people with laws about drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, etc. Georgia, Texas and Wisconsin remain the only states to prosecute all youth as adults when they turn 17 years of age. Connecticut Governor, Dannel Malloy proposed in 2016 raising the age in his state to 20.