Felds Idea to Completely Abolish the Juvenile Courts - Essay Example

Feld dismisses the options because he feels that, by creating a separate court system for juvenile offenders, these young offenders will not be punished in a way that will affect their current behavior. While he agrees that young offenders do not require the harsher punishments seen within the regular court system, he believes that treatment will still be dismal if the two courts were separated. In regards to changing the current state of the juvenile court into involving social welfare for the offenders, Feld is against this because, in previous attempts, there were odds between how the offenders were treated and punished. As nothing was being done as it should have been, Feld believes that there is simply no point in having a juvenile court.

Feld would like to abolish the juvenile courts altogether because he has not seen anything to suggest that they are doing any good. He thinks that there is nothing wrong with juveniles being tried in the typical court, just as long as they are given proper punishments that reflect how young they are (as well as the crime that they committed). The "cushions" that Feld recommends for juveniles being adjudicated in adult courts involve the young offenders avoiding punishments that are meant for adult offenders; this is a fear that he has with keeping them in the typical court, yet he believes things could be worse if there were separate courts. These "cushions" include the creation of waivers for specific offenses - these waivers would allow offenders to go free without imprisonment or a lengthy punishment, but perhaps community service or something similar to that effect. Another "cushion" allows that young offenders will have a maximum punishment so that they are never given the same punishment as their adult counterparts.

These "cushions" can prove to be helpful as they do take into consideration that young offenders do not deserve the same punishments as people older than them, and those that might have committed more serious offenses. They can prove to be harmful in the sense that the waivers could allow the offense to be committed repeatedly if a real punishment is not served. When young offender is let off the hook so often, they begin to feel that they can continue to commit that act; this tends to affect their lives and their criminal records as they get older and move on to larger offenses.

I do not agree with Feld's idea to completely abolish juvenile courts. Young offenders tend to be more complicated than older offenders, and it is when they are younger that they should be intervened before they become harder criminals as they get old. I believe that there should be a separate court system to deal solely with acts of juvenile offenses. Young offenders need special attention to help avoid them from committing other acts in the future. I feel that Feld's alternative to keeping the juvenile system one that deals with social welfare would prove to be an asset for young offenders; it is imperative that, while they are young, their problems are stopped while they are at the roots. Read More