Juvenile Court – Whats is it, & What is the process

Around the country, the court systems have what is called the juvenile court. It is a court of law that is responsible for the legal supervision and trials of children that are under the age of 18. However, because states differ on these rule the age could be seventeen or younger.

Depending on what state the juvenile is in at the time of the court hearings that will make a difference on how a juvenile court system works. However, the overall major goal fo the United States juvenile courts are to rehabilitate the juvenile instead of the alternative adult criminal justice system. The thought process is the have the juvenile be put back on the right path.

Age and court jurisdictin

Like we said above there are no national uniform age that child would be accountable in the court systems for Juveniles. The below will explain the age of responsibility by states

Delinquent behavior – Status Offenses

Most states do not specify a minimum age as a matter of law. However some states do, those that do set a minimum age are below:

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Minimum age for delinquency

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Factors that effect formal charges on a Juvenile court case

It is important for many juvenile offenders to not have a formal charge placed on them. Having a criminal record as a juvenile depends on many factors of the Juvenile case. Some of those are the following when determining if a juvenile will have formal charges on there recod

• How serious was the crime? the more serious the more likely a petition will be filed.
• Past records play a role.
• Minors age. The older the more chances the formal charge will be filed.
• Sex of juvenile plays a role. Males are more likely to have charges filed then females.
• Social problems and history. If history shows issues then the chances of a petition being files are greater.
• Attitude of minor plays a rule.
• Apperance plays a rule.

Juvenile court sentencing

There are different sentences that can happen when speaking about juveniles. From monitoring a juvenile to incarceration time can happen. This sentencing time will depend on how severe the crime was and the history of the juvenile. Typically a juvenile will see the following:

• Incarceration. This typically will be at a juvenile detention facility that is made for Juveniles. In the U.S. we do not see a juvenile in with the adult prison population.
• Formal Supervision: A juvenile meets with a juvenile probation officer.
• Informal supervision: The court system will informally monitor the juvenile.

The process is in place to reform a Juvenile offender

The juvenile court process is in place to reform juveniles for the long term. Juveniles and adults should be treated differently in terms of the court systems and how they function. There are about 1.5 million delinquency cases a year or about 75 percent of all juvenile court cases.

Out of these cases, the most common would be property crimes. The system that is in place is there to help reform and put back these juvenile offenders on the right path. Most Juvenile cases are not viewable to the public because a minor is involved in the case. The general public typically will not be able to view these cases.