Juvenile Court Case Study

It is very evident just by watching the news and seeing the headlines in local newspapers that in our current society the adult courts are growing. Illegal drug use and gang involvement are just a couple of crimes that are on the rise and it comes to no surprise that juvenile courts are growing as well. According to U.S. Government Child Statistics, “Twenty-four percent of twelfth graders reported using illicit drugs in the past thirty days”” (2015). In this paper I will clearly define the organization of juvenile courts and how they differ from adult courts. I will also examine the juvenile court’s jurisdiction and subject matter including: juvenile delinquency, status offenses, children in need of supervision, and law in action. I will also review jurisdiction over age. I will briefly discuss the steps of the juvenile court process. Finally, I will discuss the topic of juvenile’s transferring into adult court including; types of transfers, judicial waivers, prosecutorial waivers, statutory waivers, and corrective measures. …show more content…
Before the beginning of juvenile courts, children were considered little adults and were tried as adults. Juvenile courts are organized in three ways. According to David W. Neubauer, “A separate court, part of a family court, or a unit of the trial court.” Juvenile courts are separate in that they have their own employees such as judges, probation officers, and clerk of courts. Juvenile courts are also a part of family courts such as child custody, paternity testing, and child support issues. Sometimes juvenile courts are a part of a trial court. According to the text author David Neubauer, “Beyond the legal considerations of jurisdiction, the question of where matters concerning juveniles are heard is largely a function of case volume.” Due to this particular issue it is sometimes best for the juvenile hearing to be held at a different