The Juvenile Justice System

Paper Summary:

This paper explains the history and ideals of juvenile courts and argues against the proposal to eliminate the juvenile system. The paper suggests that, instead of disbanding the system, it needs to be reformed and to some degree rebuilt with the original ideals in mind. According to the paper, there should be a limitation on mandatory sentencing and standardized practices, as these reforms challenge the most essential aspect of the juvenile court; the individual treatment of the juvenile.

From the Paper:

"The juvenile justice system has been in existence since the civil war ear, when the US was undergoing specific and detailed reevaluation of what and whom had rights that needed to be protected. Children had yet to be protected by compulsory education rules or child labor laws and some were concerned that children if given the legal definition of owned by parents or the state would be the countries "new slaves." Chicago, IL was the location for the first juvenile court and it was established, in part by a Illinois Supreme Court ruling that releases a 14 year old boy from reform school because due process had not been followed to remand him there and he had according to the system committed no crime but was among a percentage of children "at risk" for delinquency based on his family history. (Tanenhaus xiii-xvi) The unanimous ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court that the boy, who was 14 deserved due process and the protection of his rights was titled, The People v. Turner, 55 Illinois 280 (1870). (Tanenhaus xiii)"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dodge, L. Mara. ""Our Juvenile Court Has Become More like a Criminal Court": A Century of Reform at the Cook County." Michigan Historical Review 26.2 (2000): 51.
• Krajicek, David J. Scooped! Media Miss Real Story on Crime While Chasing Sex, Sleaze, and Celebrities. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.
• Tanenhaus, David S. Juvenile Justice in the Making. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
• Thomas, Karen Kruse. "Gateway to Justice: The Juvenile Court and Progressive Child Welfare in a Southern City." Journal of Southern History 72.4 (2006): 974.
• Willrich, Michael. "The Juvenile Court and the Progressives." The Historian 65.3 (2003): 716.

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• Term Paper # 92953 : "Edmund Kemper and the Juvenile Justice System"

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