Juvenile Justice Cases - Assignment Example

? Juvenile Justice Cases American society can be said to be rich in culture, history and tradition. We owe the nation the duty to ensure preservation of these moral attributes without fail. However, preservation of these values should be done by both the young and old generation. The younger generation has always been considered as the torch bearer of the society’s future. It is the main responsibility f citizens and parents to prepare them for success. However, this may have to be attained in extremely unpleasant ways since some of the children might not drink from success’ pot thus living a highly unhealthy life in their adult years. Children may turn delinquent as a result of a couple of reasons. Nevertheless, it is still their right to attain the opportunity of becoming upstanding citizens in this nation. The children considered delinquent must undergo a system of juvenile justice in order to avoid adult recidivism. Introduction The future lies with the children hence, today’s laws subject them to various systems different from the adults’. It is necessary to mention that today’s child has not had enough chance at her disposal leading to marginal changes in the traditional roles that children play in several parts of this state. Most of them have actually adapted to the common proverbial silver-spoon which had an unimaginable meaning in the uneconomical era. Some are fortunate enough to have the necessities of a life while others face controversial and diverse problems. Some of the problems might be a direct effect of increasing strength of the economy; something that has substantially reduced the responsible behavior expectations during childhood. Most irresponsible children behavior is a result of inadequate attention from preoccupied parents who leave their children with the responsibility of taking care of themselves when they return home from school (John, 2007). Question 1 A& B: Although it might be a little easier to jump into conclusion and think that the 15-year old would be thrown to jail and manhandled, it is crucial to point out that the justice system came up with a system that aims at, not only committing itself to the restoration and protection philosophy but also provides diverse opportunities for diversion and emphasizing on the rehabilitation process other than mere punishment hence Mrs. I should not be worried due to several ways used to deal with that issue without necessarily having the little boy harassed. The punishment principle states that there can never be an occurrence of a crime in a situation where lawful punishment specifications do not exist. For example, Larceny would never be considered a criminal offence if a clearly defined law against that does not exist. The law of the land cannot simply state that, ‘stealing is illegal’. Criminal punishment should be clearly specified in order to ensure that there is lawful imposition of sanctions when an individual if found guilty. In this case, the boy would be found in possession of a car that was stolen, driving without a license and even crushing the car. This may be a hard case to handle as the defendant had been found with (not just one) three offences to answer for. However, there might still be hope. He might escape a harsh punishment but must be subjected to other means of correcting his behavior (Davenport, 2009). One thing that must be put into consideration is whether or not Mrs. I could be willing to take responsibility of seeing to it that the future of this little boy is bright through economic means and absolute mentorship programs. That is the most lenient option adopted by a court of law in implementing justice as a means of reversing the juvenile delinquency’s negative trend. A relatively strong program of diversion relevantly impacts recidivism and delinquents. As a replacement of juvenile court, sentencing and prosecution, there had to be an implementation of diversion programs. Another significant point is whether or not Mrs. I’s son has had any past criminal record. First-time law offenders, often have an opportunity to choose a program that best suits their needs. Her child may be fortunate enough to attain this kind of option in case he does not hold any other criminal record. These diversion programs usually aim at providing the necessary skills and encouraging juveniles into becoming responsible and productive citizens of this country. They can be said to focus on problem solving, critical thinking, conflict resolution and teaching skills concerning life. In Mrs., I’s son’s case, the main choice that best suits him, according to the allegations leveled against him is based on their economic background. Question 2 A& B Several processes might be partaken in order to ensure appropriate defense of the juvenile: At the time of arrest, in case the attorney arrives before the child is taken to trial, then the best way to go about the case is to seek for a house arrest from a police detention. Since the nature of the case does not signify any consequent threats to either the juvenile or the public, a home detention would be the best choice. In case the petition for a home detention does not bear fruit, the juvenile court receives a petition from the court officer who has enough evidence that the boy committed delinquent acts. The attorney will try and find out if the officer has enough evidence to incriminate the boy. If not, then a non-judicial agreement will be prompted between the child and the officer. Completion of agreement will bar the boy from being presented before the judge and might in fact, stop him from getting the judicial adjudication record which might later on harm him. In case the case proceeds to past arraignment, then pretrial process must be scheduled. Here, the child and the attorney might be forced to put down a possible agreement of plea with the prosecutor. At this stage, the prosecutor may decide to pushing the charges to a trial, dismissing or reducing charges, or ordering for admissions that are straight up. Depending on Mrs. I and the judge’s flexibility, the plea agreements, are always fairly creative. An agreement and abeyance plea in this case may warrant an apology letter from the boy to the legal owner of the stolen car and the court. At the point of disposition, the attorney may be forced to carefully assess the boy’s offense history and then put down the presenting office’s severity. This will aid in knowing the kind of disposition the boy may likely receive through plugging him into an assessment matrix of disposition using his crime history. This will enable the attorney to know the weight of the case at hand. A disposition does not mean the end of proceedings of court for the boy since there may be periodic reviews scheduled by the judges of the juvenile court in order to monitor the progress of the child. Other proceedings of the future may also include reviewing plea agreements, appeals or even new hearings. The attorney should find a way of helping the boy in case the prosecutor makes claims on the violation of the agreement at any subsequent hearings (Davenport, 2009). Question 3 After critically reading and analyzing the cases and evidence brought to court by the prosecution, I would like to deduce that the juvenile brought before this esteemed court is delinquent of the delinquent acts leveled against him. These include; being of a stolen car in illegal possession of someone else’s car, driving without a license and spoiling the car by hitting it against a post. I would like to say that it is a delinquent act to gain access of anything that does is not legally yours. It is also wrong to drive without a license. This is a violation of the country’s law. Conclusion In conclusion, I authorize the immediate custody of the delinquent juvenile by the officer for law enforcement. Having been reckless, I am afraid to say that the juvenile might have been in an abnormal state of mind and based on the enormous evidence brought before the court of law, I would like to believe that the minor could be dangerous to the public and hence needs custody. He will remain under juvenile detention until the court implements a final the court’s final disposition order. I recommend that the minor be taken to a center for community service and, serve there for a minimum of four weeks and from there, goes to prison for four years as well. This is my ruling (Davenport, 2009). References "A Typical Juvenile Delinquency Case." Juvenile Court Case Process Arrest, Referral, Detainment Hearing and Disposition Formal Hearing. Web. 09 Mar. 2012. http://www.lawyershop.com/practice-areas/criminal-law/juvenile-law/cases. Champion, Dean John. (2007). Crime Prevention in America. (Ashford University Ed.)   Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Prentice Hall Inc. Davenport, A. (2009). Basic Criminal Law (2nd ed.). (Ashford University Ed.) Upper Saddle. "Get Informed." Juvenile Delinquency: What Happens in a Juvenile Case? Web. 09 Mar. 2012. http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/juvenile-delinquency-what-happens-typical-case-32223.html. Read More