Juvenile Justice System Structure & Process
Highlights from Chapter 4:
- In 37 states and the District of Columbia, the oldest age for original juvenile court jurisdiction in delinquency matters is 17. In 10 states (Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin) it is 16. In the remaining three states (Connecticut, New York, and North Carolina) it is 15. (p. 103)
- In 2004, statutes in 14 states open delinquency hearings to the general public. In 21 other states, delinquency hearings are open for some types of cases. In the remaining 16 states, hearings are generally closed or are not presumed open or closed. In 45 states, media can gain access to juvenile offenders' identities in some or all delinquency cases without requesting permission. (p. 108)
- In 44 states, school notification laws require that schools be notified when students are involved with law enforcement or courts for committing delinquent acts. In some states notification is only required for serious or violent crimes. (p. 109)
- All states allow certain juveniles to be tried in criminal court or otherwise face adult sanctions. (p. 110) The expansion of state transfer laws has slowed considerably in recent years. (p. 113)
- Some juvenile offenders are handled by federal rather than state or local authorities. Federal prosecutors may retain certain serious cases involving a "substantial federal interest." Juveniles handled federally may also be "transferred" for criminal (adult) prosecution. (p. 117-118)
- From FY 1994 through FY 2001, almost 3,000 youth were committed to the Federal Bureau of Prisons for crimes committed before the age of 18. Just over half (55%) were committed as delinquents rather than as adults. The vast majority of those delinquents were American Indians (82%). American Indians made up a smaller proportion of the youth committed as adults (31%). (p. 118)
