Juvenile Court System

Waiving juvenile cases to a criminal court is a complicated process, and may take some time in order to make the proper decision. There are a few different ways in which this decision is made. In some jurisdictions, the cases may be decided upon an intake unit within the court which then decides to process it formally or informally.

Other jurisdictions may use another agency such as the prosecutor’s office, or a social service agency to decide whether the case should go to juvenile or criminal court.

When a decision is made to transfer a juvenile case to criminal court, a judicial waiver is petitioned for, and the juvenile judge then has to make the decision whether the case should be criminally prosecuted. In some places though, the prosecutor has the legal right to make that judgment without involving the juvenile court, and send the case directly to criminal court.

When a juvenile commits the crime of homicide, I personally think that any offender 13 years or older should be tried in adult criminal court. I do understand that the juvenile may lack some mental reasoning or may even have some mental disorder, just as I think that anyone who commits violent crimes have this also regardless of age, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be still be tried in criminal court for the horrible crimes they committed. The only part of the sentencing I don’t agree with in convicting a juvenile is to where he is sent to prison. I do not believe th...