Juvenile Courts and Law
| Author | Daniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw |
| Pages | 403-408 |
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Juvenile law is the body of law that applies to young people who are not yet adults. These people are called juveniles or minors. In most states, a person is a juvenile until eighteen years old. Juvenile cases are handled in a special court, usually called a juvenile court. Before the American juvenile justice system was created in the late 1800s, juveniles who broke the law were treated like adult criminals.
When the United States was born in 1776, children under seven years of age were exempt from the criminal laws. Courts, however, treated juveniles seven years and older like miniature adults. Juveniles could be arrested, tried, and convicted of crimes. If convicted, they received prison sentences just like adults. Children convicted of minor crimes found themselves in jails with adult murderers and rapists, where children learned the ways of these criminals.
In the early 1800s, immigrants from Europe filled American cities such as New York. Neglected immigrant children often roamed city
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streets and got into trouble while their parents looked for work. In 1818, the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism created the term "juvenile delinquents" to describe these children.
Social awareness led people to search for a better way to handle young people who broke the law. In the 1820s, the Society for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency suggested separating adult and juvenile criminals. The Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents worked to reform juvenile delinquents instead of punishing them. It sent them to live in dormitories and to go to school to learn to work in factories. Unfortunately, these programs often did more harm than good. Manufacturers overworked the young children while school directors kept the children's wages.
In the late 1800s, Americans decided it was time to treat juvenile criminals differently than adult criminals. As one man put it, "Children need care, not harsh punishment." Many people believed that if cared for properly, juvenile criminals could become law-abiding citizens. In 1872, Massachusetts became the first state to hold separate court sessions for children. In the 1890s, the Chicago Women's Club urged Illinois to create an entirely separate justice system for juveniles. Illinois did so by creating the world's first juvenile court in 1899.
By 1925, all but two states had juvenile justice systems. As of 1999, all states have such systems. The federal government even has a juvenile justice system for people under eighteen who violate federal law. The goal of all juvenile justice systems is to protect society from young people who break the law while reforming them into lawful adults.
Juvenile courts handle cases involving three kinds of problems: crimes, status offenses, and child abuse or...
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