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Youth Legal Term

Protection of confidentiality – A minor`s records may only be made available to schools, youth authorities, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, victims and the public in specific and specified circumstances. The confidentiality of minors is protected by national regulations. Because of these shortcomings, critics argue that the system should be dismantled. Minors, like adults, should enjoy all procedural rights, including the right to a jury trial. Freed from the rehabilitation ideology of the juvenile justice system and restrictions on due process, juveniles should be held accountable for their criminal acts. Once a juvenile is convicted, a trial court may determine the appropriate sentence. Arrest: minors are not arrested; A law enforcement officer detains a minor for a probable reason and charges him with breaking the law. The terminology created for juvenile courts is based on terminology used in civil rather than criminal courts. This language has helped to create a non-threatening environment. The juveniles have not been charged as they would have been charged in adult court; On the contrary, they were brought before the juvenile court by way of petition. The juveniles were not charged by the court at their first appearance; Instead, they had to appear for a recording hearing. The trial was not described as a trial, but as a verdict or hearing. A minor convicted by the court was not found guilty but was declared an offender.

Instead of finally formulating a sentence proportionate to the crime, the juvenile court settled the case by focusing on the best interests of the child. This terminology was used in all cases, whether it was a minor accused of a crime or a minor in need of services or protection. Progressive theory found broad support, and legislators made it their mission to adapt the legal system to children`s new understanding. The Illinois legislature was the first to create a separate court for children. The Juvenile Courts Act 1899 (1899 Ill. Laws 131, 131-37) established the first juvenile court and created a legal framework to serve as a model for other states. Derived from the Latin expression amicus curiae, meaning “friend of the court,” the term refers to a person or organization that, although not a party to a dispute in a particular dispute, writes a letter to the judge offering his or her expertise on an issue relevant to the case. Follow-up (conditional release or probation after incarceration): A government-run or contract program that supervises a youth who has been released from an engagement program. Reverse waiver โ€“ A minor tried in the adult system can apply to be transferred to the juvenile justice system.

Reformatories – Prior to the formal establishment of juvenile justice, juvenile offenders were placed in private correctional institutions. Correctional institutions are generally geared towards the rehabilitation and education of young people. Decision hearing: The court determines the sanctions, conditions and services imposed on a minor who has committed an offending act. Young offender: A person who has broken the law before reaching the age of 18. The juvenile court processes cases until the young person`s 19th birthday or until the court order is enforced. The time spent in a safe reformatory may vary. In most cases, a minor placed in a reformatory must remain there until the age of 18. However, most States allow juvenile courts to retain jurisdiction over certain minors over the age of 18 at the request of a prosecutor or representative of a State agency. These remnants are usually minors who have been convicted of a violent crime or who have committed several offences in separate proceedings. Some states also allow a juvenile court to order detention in an adult prison for juveniles who become delinquents after a certain age.

In New Hampshire, for example, a juvenile found delinquent on a petition filed after his sixteenth birthday may be sent to prison. If a term of imprisonment is ordered, it may not exceed the maximum sentence for adults or beyond the minor`s eighteenth birthday (N.H. Rev. Stat. ยง 169-B:19). Juvenile offender โ€“ Juvenile delinquent status may be granted to a juvenile who is tried by the criminal justice system. The statute generally guarantees that the proceedings are not public and that after the age of 21, the minor`s criminal record will be expunged, provided that the court`s conditions are met. The age at which a person is subject to the jurisdiction of the adult criminal court instead of the juvenile court.

In most states, the age of criminal responsibility is 17 or 18, although states also have provisions to transfer young minors into the adult system. Originally, the term “juvenile offender” referred to any child who falls under the jurisdiction of a juvenile court. These included children accused of status violations and children in need of State assistance. The term delinquent should not be pejorative: its literal meaning suggested a failure of parents and society to raise the child, not a failure of the child. Informal Decision – Held when a youth admits guilt for a crime at an informal hearing for a youth. During the decision, the court`s requirements are set out in an approval order. Parens patriae – Roughly translates to “state as a parent”. It is the idea that the state has a responsibility to parenting adolescents who have been neglected by their parents. Failure to consider: The court finds that a minor did not obey or comply with the court order. The minor may be detained for any crime from five to fifteen days. Commitment: A juvenile is enrolled in a juvenile delinquent program as defined by Florida law. These programs range from low to maximum levels of restriction.

Deinstitutionalization โ€“ The Juvenile Justice and Crime Prevention Act 1974 called for the “deinstitutionalization” of juvenile offenders and required them to be removed from safe detention facilities.