Select four (4) of the processes identified above and clearly compare and contrast their treatments in the juvenile and adult courts. Use your answers above as a guide. (No more than a paragraph for each comparison). (1) Right against self-incrimination: For the Adult: The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects people against self-incrimination (Schmalleger, 2015). For the Juvenile: Juveniles can waive their rights from the Fifth Amendment, but the validity is determined by the circumstances of each case (Siegel & Welsh, 2014). Basically, they are not guaranteed that right this is determined on their age and knowledge. They are required to have a parent or guardian present during their questioning and interrogation. The juvenile’s …show more content…
For the Juvenile: In the juvenile court system, juvenile records are kept confidential. Their proceedings are informal, closed to the public, and the courts may not release their information to the press. Comparison/Contrast: Recently the juvenile record can be opened by a court order for statutory exception. “Virtually every state provides prosecutors and judges with access to the juvenile records of adult offenders” (Siegel & Welsh, 2014). (3) Plea bargaining For the Adult: The arraignment is where the defendant receives his/her formal charges and may enter a plea (Justice 101 | USAO | Department Of Justice, n.d.). According to Siegel & Welsh, 2014, approximately 90 percent of defendants plead guilty. The plea bargaining exchange is where the defendant, his/her attorneys agree to plead guilty to less severe charges in exchange for reduced sentences. For the Juvenile: Plea-bargaining is frowned upon in juvenile courts. This process in the juvenile system is a “discussion between the child’s attorney and the prosecutor, permits a defendant to plead guilty to a less-serious charge in exchange for an agreement by the prosecutor to recommend a reduced sentence to the court (Siegel & Welsh,
The use of juvenile records in adult criminal cases has been an ongoing, contested debate for many years. The effects of using one’s juvenile record in criminal court could be very damning. This week’s case summary is in regard to this very issue. In People v. Smith (1991), the defendant in this case, Ricky Smith stated that he was wrongly sentenced to the maximum length of 180 months under a statute which utilized his juvenile record to deem that he was a habitual offender. A closer examination follows.
In some cases, the crime committed by a juvenile is so egregious, that it belongs in adult court. The waivers presented in this discussion are juvenile friendly, containing many safeguards for juveniles. Take for example, the juvenile waiver, this waiver contains a list of pertinent questions about the juvenile’s history, which is addressed, before a waiver is considered. Another example, prosecutorial discretion waiver, this waiver makes decisions around one important factor, the age of the juvenile. And then we have statutory exclusion waivers, which states that juveniles in prison or not, are considered a protected population (OJJDP, 1997). Now, with that said, waivers should be used under special circumstances. Circumstances that involve heinous crimes, and felonies committed by
The age of the offender determines whether they meet the requirements for a judicial waiver offense. With that said not every state offers all three of the methods a juvenile can qualify for a waiver. In the process of judicial waiver offense the judge takes the final decision on waiving a case. There are other factors that affect the judge’s final decision. Aspects like the criminal history of the offender or the severity of the crime are crucial for the waiver to take place.
The Juvenile Justice system, since its conception over a century ago, has been one at conflict with itself. Originally conceived as a fatherly entity intervening into the lives of the troubled urban youths, it has since been transformed into a rigid and adversarial arena restrained by the demands of personal liberty and due process. The nature of a juvenile's experience within the juvenile justice system has come almost full circle from being treated as an adult, then as an unaccountable child, now almost as an adult once more.
“The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that ‘no person . . . shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.’ U.S. Const. amend. V. The related provision in the Tennessee Constitution states that ‘in all criminal prosecutions, the accused . . . shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself.’ Tenn. Const. art. I, § 9.” State v. Blackstock, 19 S.W.3d 200, 2000 Tenn. LEXIS 168 (Tenn. 2000). The Supreme court ruled in Miranda v. Arizona that before a subject can be questioned by the police they must be warned that they have the right to remain silent, that anything they say can be used against them, that they have a right to an attorney, and that if they cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed to them before interrogation
The majority of the juvenile research concludes that serious harm can be done to juveniles simply being referred into the formal juvenile justice process. Police officers should really take into consideration that who they send for the formal process (Kaufman, I. 1979).At times these juveniles are just playing around and doing things that they are not supposed too and when processed they are being mixed with real delinquents and are being influenced by the wrong people which may cause them to tern deviant and later delinquents. A way to stop this police should only take into consideration serious criminal or repeated criminal
A plea bargain can be defined as, “a negotiation between the defendant and his attorney on one side and the prosecutor on the other, in which the defendant agrees to plead “guilty” or “no contest” to some crimes, in return for reduction of the severity of the charges, dismissal of some of the charges, the prosecutor’s willingness to recommend a particular sentence or some other benefit to the defendant. Sometimes one element of the bargain is that the defendant reveal information such as location of stolen goods, names of others participating in the crime or admission of other crimes. The judge must agree to the result of the plea bargain before accepting the plea. If he does not, then the bargain is cancelled.”
In general, you can seal most juvenile records and criminal convictions if you were under the age of 16.
The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides, "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury…nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property… nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation"(Cornell). The clauses within the Fifth Amendment outline constitutional limits on police procedure. Within them there is protection against self-incrimination, it protects defendants from having to testify if they may incriminate themselves through the testimony. A witness may plead the fifth and not answer to any questioning if they believe it can hurt them (Cornell). The Bill of Rights, which consists of the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, enumerates certain basic personal liberties. Laws passed by elected officials that infringe on these liberties are invalidated by the judiciary as unconstitutional. The Fifth Amendment was ratified in 1791; the Framers of the Fifth Amendment intended that its revisions would apply only to the actions of the federal government. After the Fourteenth was ratified, most of the Fifth Amendment's protections were made applicable to the states. Under the Incorporation Doctrine, most of the liberties set forth in the Bill of Rights were made applicable to state governments through the U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation of the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment (Burton, 2007).
The historical development of the juvenile justice system in the United States is one that is focused on forming and separating trying juveniles from adult counterparts. One of the most important aspects is focusing on ensuring that there is a level of fairness and equality with respect to the cognitive abilities and processes of juveniles as it relates to committing crime. Some of the most important case legislation that would strengthen the argument in regard to the development of the juvenile justice system is related to the reform of the justice system during the turn of the 19th century. Many juveniles were unfortunately caught in the crosshairs of being tried as adults and ultimately receiving punishments not in line with their ability to understand their actions or be provided a second chance.
There has always been controversies as to whether juvenile criminals should be tried as adults or not. Over the years more and more teenagers have been involved in committing crimes. In some cases the juries have been too rough on the teens. Trying teens as adults can have a both positive and negative views. For example, teens that are detained can provide information about other crimes, can have an impact in social conditions, and serve as experience; however, it can be negative because teens are still not mature enough for that experience, they are exposed to adult criminals; and they will lose out on getting an education.
Juveniles deserve to be tried the same as adults when they commit certain crimes. The justice systems of America are becoming completely unjust and easy to break through. Juvenile courts haven’t always been known to the everyday person.
As far as minors are concerned, some records qualify for automatic restriction, meaning the records cannot be released. For this, a minor must be at least 17 years old, not classified as a violent or habitual offender, and the case must not have been transferred to an adult criminal court. To permanently seal a juvenile’s records when a misdemeanor is involved, two years must have passed since the end of the case, there must be no other convictions, and no other charges pending. If it is for a felony, the court will seal the juvenile’s record if that person is at least 19 years old, the case was never transferred to adult court, the record was not used in punishment for a subsequent
Controversy over the treatment of juveniles in the United States justice system has long been a controversy within this nation. The treatment of juveniles within the United States justice system is a multi-faceted issue. Some of the main issues which are currently controversial are the ages at which juveniles are being tried as adults, whether it should be allowed to sentence a juvenile to life without parole, whether a juvenile has a developed enough brain to understand all the things at hand, and how the federal and state governments interact with the juvenile justice system.
According to the legal definitions the difference between the juvenile and adult courts are the following the juvenile courts have no juries; they use different terminology considering the age of the individual under suspicion. No adversarial relationship and confidentiality.