1. A History of the Juvenile Justice System
The Nutshell Version, Anyhow

2. Two Central Issues
Why should kids who commit crimes be treated any differently than adults?
At what age should a child be held criminally responsible for their actions?
At what age does a kid cease to become a “kid?”
If kids should be treated differently, how should they be treated?

3. Pre-Middle Ages Code of Hammurabi (2270 b.c.) Other Examples
Roman civil and church law
Ancient Jewish and Moslem laws

4. Middle Ages ( ad)
Roman criminal law codified in the “Twelve Tables”
Eventually, under the “Justinian Code”
0-7 Years = not criminally responsible
7-12/14 = know right from wrong?
>12/14 = adult
English common law emerges ( ad)
Early common law = “too young for punishment”
By 1500s, common law adopts scheme similar to Justinian code

5. Middle Ages II English Common Law Concept of Parens Patriae develops
0 to 7 = not criminally responsible
7-14 = burden on state to demonstrate that the child:
Formed criminal intent
Understood consequences of their actions
Knew right from wrong
Concept of Parens Patriae develops
Civil law, King as “parent of country”

6. England 1500-1700 Statute of Artificers (1562) and Poor Laws (1602)
Children of paupers apprenticed
Punishment of criminal children still similar to adults
Corporal/public, banishment, galley slavery
Bridewell Workhouse (London, 1557)
Precursor to prisons, idea = “reform through labor”
Mostly for “idle”/”disorderly”

7. Colonial America Until the late 1700sEnglish Common Law
Prison uncommon, many children found “innocent” to spare them corporal punishment

8. U.S. 1775-1825 The Industrial Revolution The Birth of the Penitentiary
“Gentleman Reformers”
Result of these trends: Houses of Refuge
Ex Parte Crouse (1839)
And later, “Industrial” and “Reform” schools
People ex rel. O’Connell V. Turner (1870)

9. The “Child Saving Movement”
Child Savers disgruntled with “child prisons”
Deep mistrust of “the city” and immigrants
Advocated rural “Cottage Style” housing
Helped to “place out” city kids to farm families

10. Progressive Era (1900-1930) The Progressives
Optimists + Faith in Government
General = sanitation, poverty, unsafe labor…
Juveniles = compulsory education, helped shape juvenile justice system

11. The Juvenile Court Movement
First Juvenile Court in Illinois (1899)
Quasi-civil nature of court
Parens Patriae = act in best interest of child using non-criminal procedures
No “special wrong” necessary
Characteristics
Informal, closed proceedings with sealed records
Medical model of “diagnosing” social ills
Age = 15 years and younger
Probation Officers to investigate and rehabilitate

12. J.C. Spreads ( )

13. Innovation and Stability
Juvenile Courts Spread, but differences emerged
Some states require procedures similar to criminal court, others courts grant judge complete discretion to “follow conscience”
Discretion/Informality becomes key issue
Good?
Bad?
By the 1950s, many juvenile courts are “bureaucratic and burdened”

14. Winds of Change 1960-1975 Social Context of this Period Crucial
Viet Nam, Kent State, Attica, Watergate…
Increase in crime, divorce, single parents…
Youth flaunting morals of prior generation
Ideological Responses
Conservatives?
Liberals/Progressives?

15. Strange Bedfellows
Conservatives and Liberals largely agree on policy Issues
In both adult and juvenile system, discretion should be limited
Juveniles should be granted due process rights
Differences?
Conservatives  treat juveniles more like adults, punishment works
Liberals  most juveniles should be diverted from the system, short sentences for those that aren’t

16. Constitutional Domestication
Kent vs. United States (1961)
In Re Gault (1967)
In Re Winship (1970)
Breed v. Jones (1975)
Justice Stewarts Dissent Opinion in Gault

17. From Cox et. al (Your Book)
“Legalists”
“Case Workers” (Social Work)

18. OJJDP and DSO
1967 President Johnson’s “Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice.”
1974 Congress enacts “Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.”
Creation of OJJDP
Decriminalization, Deinstitutionalization, elimination of court authority over status offenders
Mass. “deinstitutionalization” experiment

19. Getting “Tough” 1980-2000 Backlash against diversion, labeling theory
Political Rhetoric “get tough on juveniles”
National “war on drugs”
1984 National Advisory Committee for Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention

20. How have we gotten “tough?”
Legislative Policy
Juvenile Wavier, Statutory Exclusion
Lower upper age limit of jurisdiction
Sentencing (Blended, mandatory minimum)
Confidentiality, records in adult courts
Types of Punishment
Boot Camps, ISP, Electronic Monitoring

21. Where is policy now Crime in general is not “high profile” issue
OJJDP 1993 Comprehensive Strategy
Barry Feld’s “Criminological triage”

22. Research For Debates and Papers
I Expect evidence from academic sources
Journal articles, academic books
Searching for articles/books
Get references from books or articles
Government reports (OJJDP, NCJRS…)
Search
Criminal Justice Abstracts
Sage journals search (full text)
Journal of Crime and Delinquency (full text)