Exam 13: The Juvenile Justice System

You are a juvenile magistrate whohas been delegated a case involving a 14 year-old girl named Sara. Sara has noprior criminal history with the police, however she recently got intoa fight with another girl at school about a social media post. The victim was actually bullying Sara and telling her on social media that she should kill herself because she was a "loser." The principal at the school expels Sara immediately, but does not seek tofile formal charges against her. However, the victim's mother calls the principal and threatens a formal lawsuit against him and the school district if he does not have the school resource officer arrest the girl, and have the case formally presented tothe prosecutor of the county. The next day, the school resource officer and local sheriff arrest Sara at her home and refer the case tothe local prosecutor whothen turns the case over tothe local juvenile magistrate. The magistrate asks the chief juvenile probation officer toconduct a predisposition report regarding Sara's case.  As the juvenile probation officer, you must inform the judge about Sara's case. Since Sara seems tobe a victim of cyberbullying, there appear tobe mitigating circumstances. As the probation officer, what will you recommend the judge doin regard toSara's behavior? Please explain your decision.

Case 13-1 Keith is fifteen-year-old boy wholives in a suburban neighborhood. He has been getting intotrouble at school and not listening tohis parents at home. He is alsohanging out with a new group of kids in the neighborhood whoappear tobe a bad influence on him and his behavior choices. His parents are growing frustrated with his antics. They finally called the police when it was 2 a.m. and he had not returned home. ​ The judge in Keith's case decides toplace him in the temporary custody of a secure facility before the  adjudicatory process begins. This placement is referred toas: ​

A juvenile whohas been found tohave engaged in behavior deemed unacceptable for those under a certain statutorily determined age is referred toas a     ____. ​

Drug use has been shown tobe a strong risk factor for which category of juveniles? ​

Juvenile records are kept sealed but court proceedings are open tothe public.

A youth gang is viewed as a group of       or more persons whoself-identify themselves as an entity separate from the community by special clothing, vocabulary, hand signals, and name, and engage in criminal activity. ​

Which Supreme Court case determined that due process rights alsoapplied tochildren? ​

Identify and briefly discuss the single most important Supreme Court case with respect tojuvenile justice.

Juveniles are most commonly transferred toadult courts through prosecutorial waiver.

As mayor of your suburban community outside of Charleston, South Carolina, you are considering creating an ordinance that makes being a gang member a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. Your entire city council is for the ordinance. on one hand you are concerned about possible legal and ethical implications; on the other hand, you realize that this local law may have a dramatic impact on local gang membership. How doyou proceed and why? Please fully explain.

In____ , the Supreme Court held that juveniles are entitled tomany of the same due process rights granted toadult offenders, including notice of charges, the right tocounsel, the privilege against self- incrimination, and the right toconfront and cross-examine witnesses.

In ________________  (2010), the Supreme Court held that juveniles whocommit crimes that donot involve murder may not be sentenced tolife in prison without the possibility of parole. ​

Forty-four states have enacted "parental responsibility statutes," which make parents accountable for the offenses of their children. Seventeen of these states hold parents criminally liable for their children's actions, punishing the parents with fines, community service, and even incarceration. As a veteran state senator of ten years, you have been elected by your peers tochair the state senate judicial committee that is considering creating one of these parental responsibility laws for all violent crimes ranging from simple assault to1^st degree murder. As a former magistrate whopracticed both criminal and family law, you have mixed feelings about these responsibility statutes. At your first committee meeting, you quickly become aware that the committee is equally split on this issue, five voting for and five voting against this new potential law. As chair of the committee, you may vote or may ask for additional information be gathered about the impact of such laws in surrounding states. As committee chair, what will you doand why? Please fully explain your course of action.

________refers toconduct that would be criminal if committed by an adult.

The child savers believed that juvenile offenders required treatment, not punishment.

Kevin, a seventeen year-old high school senior, and his girlfriend, a fifteen year-old girl named Tara, were caught sexting pictures back and forth at school by their math teacher. Since all teachers are considered mandatory reporters when it comes tosex crimes, their math teacher was forced toturn them intothe principal, whoin turn had toreport it tothe school resource police officer. The school resource officer, in conjunction with Pennsylvania state law, had toarrest both teenagers for various charges including possession and distribution of child pornography, both of which are felony offenses. As the local prosecutor assigned tothe case, you must now decide if you will seek tohave the case transferred toan adult court for a formal trial. If found guilty in an adult court, both students could spend time in a juvenile facility until they turn 18, and then be remanded toan adult correctional facility for the remainder of their sentences. In addition, upon custodial release, they will have toregister as sex offenders for the rest of their lives. As the prosecutor, you can seek a transfer toadult court or you can allow it tostay at the juvenile court level. What will you do?

The ruling in ____________ (1970)required the government toprove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that a juvenile had committed an act of delinquency, raising the burden of proof from a "preponderance of the evidence." ​

The____is a document filed with a juvenile court alleging that the juvenile is a delinquent or a status offender and asking the court toeither hear the case or transfer it toan adult court. ​

The process in which the juvenile judge, based on the facts of the case at hand, decides that the alleged offender should be transferred toadult court is a(n): ​

Which of the following is true about both the juvenile and adult justice systems in the United States? ​