The court historically has heard an average of 700 cases monthly. However, over the past few years the number of cases filed has doubled. In most cases, the efficiency of the courts allowed final case disposition within a month. Current backlogs in court hearings exceed two months. Cases sometimes take up to three months for final disposition. Because of the perpetual problem with hearing backlogs, judges wish to reconsider the present mixed calendar system. Six judges rotate between hearing criminal and civil cases on a monthly basis. Two judges hear criminal cases and four judges adjudicate civil cases for one month.
The judges must see the cases through to final disposition. However, at the start of a new month, two of the judges hearing civil matters rotate to the criminal court and the two on the criminal bench rotate into the civil court. Complicating matters, only one judge hears all juvenile cases while maintaining the same responsibilities as the other five judges who rotate between the criminal and civil courts. Despite the two to three months required for case disposition, the court compiles statistics for each division monthly. This paper will identify the problems associated with this case management approach, potential problems in the criminal division, the advantages and disadvantages of permanent assignment of permanent assignment of a judge to the juvenile division, and address concerns with the approach to the court’s statistical approach.
In a general way, discuss both the merits and difficulties posed by this case
management approach. Relate your response to the general advantages and
disadvantages of both the individual and the master calendar systems.
It is clear that there are major problems here espe...
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...before rotating from one division to another. The one judge who hears juvenile cases must also hear cases in the criminal and civil divisions.
As evidenced by the rotation of judges between courts and the statistical record keeping, the entire administration centers on monthly case filing and adjudication. This discussion addressed the merits and difficulties of this case management approach as they relate to the advantages and disadvantages of both the individual and master calendar systems. The quandary identifies potential problems in the criminal division and the reasons they might arise. This case study identifies problems and proposes the advantages of permanent assignment of a judge to the juvenile division. Finally, the case introduces comments regarding the court’s statistical reporting procedures and suggests additional data needed to improve management.
One of the major determining factors of the beneficialness of teen courts, is recidivism. According to Butts and Ort...
The process of transferring juveniles to adult courts has shown no effects on decreasing recidivism or a deterrent outcome. Waiver as it is known has three means by which a juvenile can be transferred to an adult court. Judicial waiver offenses, statutory exclusions, and concurrent jurisdiction are the three methods in which a waiver can occur. This research will describe each one of these methods with detail. It will also provide statistical facts showing why waiver can be a very debatable topic within the juvenile criminal justice system. In its totality it will discuss the arguments for and against waiver.
Holten, N. G. & Lamar, L. L. (1991). The Criminal Courts Structures, Personnel, and Processes. Florida: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
The book, No Matter How Loud I Shout, takes an in-depth look at the juvenile court system in the state of California in the 1990s. Through a colorful narrative story the author, Edward Humes, paints of vivid picture of the how dysfunctional the system truly was. The main focus is on the various ways the system has failed many of the juveniles that it is intended to help. Peggy Beckstrand, the Deputy District Attorney, says it best “The first thing you learn about this place, is that nothing works.” (No Matter How Loud I Shout, 1996, p.31)
Oliver, N. E. (2006). Influences on Judicial Decision Making. In N. E. Oliver, The Public Policy of Crime and Criminal Justice (pp. 371-374). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
In recent decades, violent crimes in the United States of America have been on a steady decline, however, the number of people in the United States under some form of correctional control is reaching towering heights and reaching record proportions. In the last thirty years, the incarceration rates in the United States has skyrocketed; the numbers roughly quadrupled from around five hundred thousand to more than 2 million people. (NAACP)In a speech on criminal justice at Columbia University, Hillary Clinton notes that, “It’s a stark fact that the United States has less than five percent of the world’s population, yet we have almost 25 percent of the world’s total prison population. The numbers today are much higher than they were 30, 40
During one of our class sessions we discussed the different areas within the criminal justice system. The topic of courts and sentencing specifically of juveniles was mentioned. As we get to know the inside students we learn some of their backstory of how they ended up at Joseph Harp Correctional Facility, many of them had their first contact with the criminal justice system as a juvenile. Several of the inside students expressed animosity toward the courts when it came to sentencing of juveniles. They thought that some of the ways juveniles are sentenced is too harsh.
Roberson, C., Wallace, H., & Stuckey, G. B. (2013). Procedures in the justice system (1st ed.). [Vitalsource or Kaplan University]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781269223119/pages/76743177
As of 2007, nine states have granted juveniles the constitutional right to request a jury trial. Eleven more states will grant a jury trial under very narrow circumstances such as when juveniles may be subject to adult incarceration facilities, violent and serial offenders, as well as juveniles who seek appellate review of their disposition. That leaves thirty-one jurisdictions, including Maine, that have fallen into the shadow of the Supreme Court decision McKeiver v. Pennsylvania to not yet extend jury trials in juvenile court systems. But the landscape of juvenile courts looks much different today than it did forty-three years ago when McKeiver was decided. The juvenile system is no longer so distinct from its criminal counterpart; in fact, juvenile courts have developed many punitive practices that go against the idea of a purely rehabilitative focus. This paper will focus on the origins of the jury trial and the juvenile justice system, the constitutional arguments that render jury trials necessary in juvenile courts, policy arguments for the functioning of those jury trials, and how jury trials fit and thus should be included in the Maine Juvenile Code.
The American Court System is an important part of American history and one of the many assets that makes America stand out from other countries. It thrives for justice through its structured and organized court systems. The structures and organizations are widely influenced by both the State and U.S Constitution. The courts have important characters that used their knowledge and roles to aim for equality and justice. These court systems have been influenced since the beginning of the United State of America. Today, these systems and law continue to change and adapt in order to keep and protect the peoples’ rights.
Presently, juvenile justice is widely acknowledged as being in a state of flux in the United States. The early 1990s saw the most substantial rise in violent crime committed by juveniles ever experienced in this country. On the heels of decades of skepticism about the effectiveness of parens patriae (the state as parent), this rise was the "proof" for many "experts" who believe that the juvenile justice system should be abolished. These skeptics reason that one criminal court could still have some latitude when sentencing younger offenders, but that kids are now committing adult crimes, so it is time to treat them as adults.
John P. Wright, Kären M. Hess, Christine H. Orthmann. "Juvenile Justice." Cengage Learning; 6 edition, 2012
In particular, Gallas-himself a former court administrator-thinks that what judges and administrators do within courts is insufficient to explain case processing differences; as he states it, the "local legal culture pervades the practice of law and the processing of c...
The present system of justice in this country is too slow and far too lenient. Too often the punishment given to criminal offenders does not fit the crime committed. It is time to stop dragging out justice and sentencing and dragging our feet in dispensing quick and just due. All punishment should be administered in public. It is time to revert back to the "court square hanging" style of justice. This justice would lessen crime because it would prove to criminals that harsh justice would be administered.
Juvenile delinquency is a problem that affects society as a whole. Understanding Juvenile delinquency is important because it is part of trying to figure out how people in American society should react to it; specifically, in terms of law enforcement officers, their agencies, and State legislators. When deviant behavior becomes "continuous, chronic and widespread it gets perceived as a significant part of the population as threatening to the general well-being of society" (Thompson and Bynum, 2010, p. 44). This is a societal problem that requires attention from various forms of social control. However, a lot of the burden is absorbed by an imperfect Juvenile Justice System. As time has passed, argument has ensued over what should be done with the Juvenile Court System. Should the court system be reformed or simply abolished? Barry C. Feld believes that there are enough factors to support the abolishment of the Juvenile Court System and supports an integrated approach (Hickey, 2010). Others, like Vincent Schiraldi and Jason Ziedenberg, believe that the transfer of kids "into adult court is unnecessary, harmful and racist" (Kelly, 2010, Lecture Unit 3). While reforming the system may seem like the best idea, there are certain factors that inhibit proper changes from being made. Creating a separate court system for juveniles has caused a number of consequences for youth.