Institutionalized Juveniles and their rights - Essay Example

alized Juveniles and Their Rights alized Juveniles and Their Rights Right to Counsel A juvenile offender hasthe right of representation by counsel in his proceedings. The statue that highlights this right presumes that juvenile offenders are needy. Counsel should be assigned for a juvenile offender where there is no attorney. This means that a juvenile offender does not hold a self representation right. Moreover, the juvenile offender should be advised to get an attorney during interrogation (Champion, 1997).

Right to an Open HearingA hearing of a juvenile offender should be open. Nonetheless, a hearing may be private on motion of the court or a party except if the offender demands it be public. In judging on a proposal to make a hearing private, the court must take into account the maturity and age of the offender, charges against the offender, probability of confidentiality breach, and the advantage of privacy to the offender and weigh these issues against the advantage of an open hearing (Champion, 1997).

Right to Appointment of GuardianA juvenile offender has the right to be allocated a guardian. A guardian of a person may be appointed for the offender if the court establishes it will be at the best interest of the juvenile offender, or if no guardian, custodian, or parent turns up at a hearing with the offender (Champion, 1997).A considerable body of law ascertains the rights of incarcerated and detained juvenile offenders and safeguards their rights in confinement. Ombudsman programs also help to supervise juvenile correctional facilities.

They safeguard the rights of juvenile offenders in custody. The people who protect juvenile offenders’ rights derive their authority from the Supreme Court, and juvenile codes and statutes (Champion, 1997).ReferenceChampion, D. (1997). Juvenile justice system: Delinquency, processing, and the law (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.