Juvenile Court Case Study

Differences In Adult and Juvenile Court The United States has a unique judicial system when it comes to the youth of the country. When someone below the age of eighteen commits a crime he or she is not held to the same standards as that of an adult in the country. The United States believes that the youth of the country can be helped if they commit a crime. They believe that if a member of society that is younger than the age of a legal adult, eighteen commits a crime then he or she can be helped and ultimately be rehabilitated back to the standards that a normal citizen would abide by. This being said, when a youth is caught committing a crime they go through a very different process then that of someone that committed the same crime but …show more content…
The police officer can use his discretion to either issue a warning, hold the minor until a parent or guardian comes, or refers the minor to a juvenile court (Juvenile Delinquency: What Happens in a Juvenile Case, 2015). In this case the police officer would most likely detain the subject and place the juvenile in custody and then refer the case to a local juvenile court. Once the Subject B has been referred to a Juvenile Court, his case will then be given to either a prosecutor or a probation officer. The prosecutor or probation officer can then decide whether or not to dismiss the charges against the juvenile, handle the situation without the law involved or file charges. While considering what to do the prosecutor or the probation officer will be taking many things into account such as; the severity of the offense, past record, age, evidence, gender, the parents and their ability to control the minor, and the juveniles social history (Juvenile Delinquency: What Happens in a Juvenile Case, 2015). According to an online source about twenty percent of all juvenile cases are dismissed by the probation officer or prosecutor and about twenty five percent of all cases are handled outside of a court. This being said about fifty-five percent of all cases referred to a Juvenile Court are actually seen in formal courts. For the twenty five percent of juveniles’ case that are settled outside of court informally they have to go before a judge and then the judge will give them either one or many of the following things to do; listen to a lecture about life, attend counseling, stay after school to do extra classes, repay the victim for damages caused, pay a hefty fine, perform community service work, or even enter probation (Juvenile Delinquency: What Happens in a Juvenile Case, 2015). In the case that the judge feels that the people that are taking care of the juvenile