Juvenile Justice Reform Paper

Historically, children over 14 were presumptively culpable for their crimes. In the late 19th century, juvenile justice reformers advocated for the creation of a separate judicial system that emphasized rehabilitation rather than punishment, and judicial discretion rather than procedural formality. This movement was driven by concerns that juvenile offenders were different than adult offenders, and might benefit from alternative forms of judicial processing (Tanenhaus 2004, 2002). The juvenile court system spread rapidly throughout the United States. Growing fears of juvenile crime and skepticism about rehabilitation led many states to reconsider the thought of processing serious juvenile offenders in what appeared to be a lenient juvenile justice system (Feld, 1999). During this period, states moved more and more juveniles into the adult justice system through three different legislative changes. First, they created statutes that required or permitted juvenile judges to transfer serious adolescent offenders into adult court. Second, a number of states created direct file procedures, which empowered prosecutors to …show more content…
But the one place they are treated as adults is in New York’s justice system. New York is only one of two states in the country that treats 16 and 17-year-olds like adults in its criminal justice system. Each year, 4,700 adolescents are sentenced to time in adult prisons and jails. According to the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy (2013), 16 and 17-year olds are all processed in adult criminal court instead of family court no matter how serious the offense. Charges include but are not limited to shoplifting, vandalism, causing a disturbance, possession of marijuana, or something more serious. Many of these offenses are non-violent and/or misdemeanors. Some common offenses would not be a crime at all if done by someone over the age of 21. Underage drinking is an