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The
US Juvenile Justice System: Coping With Growing Pains
The system of juvenile justice
in the United States has been a magnet for controversy and debate for
decades. Social reformers have long advocated for rehabilitative
approaches in dealing with delinquent youth and decry modern trends in
juvenile justice modeled after the system that prosecutes adults. Their
views often contrast with those who feel stricter penalties are
necessary to serve up justice and to steer young people away from
delinquency. Statistics show the scope and costs of juvenile justice to
US society: In 2006, about 2 million youth were arrested, and half of
their cases were heard in juvenile courts. That same year, California
spent approximately $200 million on juvenile corrections alone.
The development of China’s juvenile court system—an effort that Dui Hua
is actively supporting—means juvenile justice may well receive more
emphasis in the human rights dialogues conducted between Chinese
officials and Dui Hua as well as officials in the United States. For all
involved, an important component of such a dialogue is a basic
understanding of the state and challenges of the US juvenile justice
system.
Background of US Juvenile Justice
The US juvenile system was largely born out of progressive ethical
leanings of the 19th century, when distinctions began to be made between
delinquency of children and criminality of adults. Prior to an
established youth system, the New York House of Refuge became the first
institution for accommodating juvenile delinquents, and similar
institutions were set up in other cities and states. Before this time,
those under the age of seventeen who committed offenses had their cases
heard in the same criminal justice system as adults and, if found
delinquent, were incarcerated with adult offenders.
Citing psychological factors, many political and social reformers sought
a more appropriate system for juvenile offenders. In 1899, the first
juvenile court was established in Illinois, with a philosophy of
protecting the public and serving the best interests of youth. Unlike
the adult system, which centered on prosecution, the juvenile court had
a more benevolent mission: to build informal and civil processes for
rehabilitating offenders. This established a localized version of
juvenile justice that is reflected in the fact that US states administer
their own systems, with some important variations in laws from state to
state.
From the 1960s, questions began to arise about the effectiveness of the
progressive model of juvenile justice. Critics felt the system was
failing to rehabilitate youth and that sterner punishment—usually longer
sentences proportional to those given out in the criminal justice
system—could “scare straight” young people and better protect society.
Over the course of a decade, Supreme Court rulings on several lawsuits
led to legislation affording youth due process of legal rights during
criminal proceedings that had only been provided to adults. These
included the rights for obtaining notice of charges, legal counsel, and
“privilege against self-incrimination”—changes that, in effect, would
pave the way for less distinction between justice standards applied to
youth and adult offenders.
While states run their own systems, federal laws have developed
guideposts for administering justice and created baselines for the
treatment of juvenile delinquents. In 1974, the passage of the Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) brought about
federally-funded, community-based initiatives meant to decrease juvenile
offenses. The expectation under the act has been that states uphold
minimal standards to protect youth, such as separating minors from adult
criminals and also assessing and reducing disproportionate minority
confinement.
But around the same time, the US public began to demand heavier
penalties in response to rising rates of serious and violent juvenile
offenses, an outcry that led to more punitive juvenile justice
legislation. By the mid-1990s, violent crime by youth had peaked, and
almost all US states passed laws making it easier to try juveniles in
adult criminal courts and loosening formerly tight regulations that,
among other things, protected the confidentiality of juveniles.
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