Child Saving Movement Case Study

Describe the child-saving movement and its relationship to the doctrine of parens patriae.

Under the child saving act of parens patriae, the state has a right and a duty to care for neglected, delinquent, or disadvantaged children. The child-saving movement, based on doctrine of parens patriae, started in the 1800s. Its followers believed that juvenile offenders require treatment rather than punishment.

List the four major differences between juvenile courts and adult courts.

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.

Describe the reasoning behind recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have lessened the harshness of sentencing outcomes for violent juvenile offenders.

In recent years the supreme court’s decisions concerning juvinail punishment focuced on banning capital punishment and limiting availablility of life sentences without parole for offenders who committed their crimes as juveniles, the court has focused on the concept of diminished capacity this concept is based on the notion that violent juvenile offenders cannot fully understand the consequences of their actions and are more deserving of rehabilitation.

Describe the one variable that always correlates highly with juvenile crime rates.

The older a person is it is less likely that he or she will engage in a criminal behavior. This process is known as again out. Thus, persons in any at-risk group will commit fewer crimes, as they get older.

Describe the four primary stages of pretrial juvenile justice procedure.

Four primary stages that the juvenile justice system is consist of intake, pretrial decision, jurisdictional waiver and detention.
An intake is a process when an official of the juvenile court engages in a screening process to determine what to do with the youthful offender.
Pretrial division, which may consist, or probation, treatment and aid, and/or restitution.
Jurisdictional waiver to an adult court, in which case the youth leaves the juvenile justice system.
Some type of detention, in which the youth is held until the disposition process begins.