Juvenile Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Juvenile Justice - Essay Example Eras of juvenile court Juvenile justice therefore was solely created to rehabilitate minors. Its evolution can be classified into three major Eras, namely: the pre-juvenile era, the juvenile court era and the juvenile rights. The pre-juvenile court Era (1600-1898) Before the establishment of a separate juvenile justice system, minor law breakers were dealt with by the family and communities. The family and the community were charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the children behaved in the most acceptable manner in the society. There were no established juvenile justice systems by then. The juvenile court Era (1899-1966) The first juvenile court was created in United States by juvenile court Act passed by Illinois’ Legislature. These court replaced family and the community at large, who were responsible for minors rehabilitation. The juvenile court therefore began to exercising guardianship rights, so that it could discover and correct conditions that contributed to the minors’ misconduct Juvenile rights Era (1967-1979) Because every establishment must have its critics, pros and cons based on the analysis on ground, the juvenile court system attracted many critics. ... I have a personal conviction that the juvenile rights Era were the most productive, as it ensured fair system of justice and juvenile right protection. In the other hand pre-juvenile court era as far as I am concerned, was damaging, because in many cases parents do sympathize with their children, leading to their forgiveness, hence no rehabilitation could take place if it was left in the hands of the parents so the rule of Stare Decisis should hold. Problems facing juvenile courts today Nevertheless, juvenile courts have been faced with many challenges, both administrative and legal issues. These problems have risen significantly and taken different paths. Many critics have come out to claim that the court system of justice have not properly embraced the zero tolerance policies on crimes. Moreover, researches have shown that juveniles in the court system don't always receive the best defense and ironically those teens that have lawyers often are treated worse than those who donâ€⠄¢t. All juvenile under trail should receive legal representatives and that the lawyers must make their defenses based on the constitution and law. Bearing in mind that the juvenile justice system has been accused of passing unfair judgments and harsh punishment to minors, formidable solution must be established to help correct this. First of all, children need to be educated on the effects of being arraigned in the juvenile court because it can psychologically affect them. Here prevention programs are very important as they will lead to decrease juvenile crimes. Future of juvenile justice If prevention programs are not considered, youths might continue facing psychological problems, with mental problem not in exception. Mental health programs