Supreme Court Case: Juvenile Justice - Assignment Example

Supreme Court Case Matters resulting from juvenile criminal behavior are rarely brought to the Supreme Court in the United States. However, at the start of the 1960s, the Supreme Court tried a number of juvenile cases that led to drastic changes in the procedures and character of justice system (Siegel and Senna, 2009). This essay looks into one of the most influential cases in the juvenile justice system, Kent v. United States. This case was a landmark in the justice in the justice system at large as the most powerful court in the country had consented to decide on a case that the appellant had claimed unfair treatment at the juvenile court.

This case was involving a sixteen year old Morris Kent that was charged with robbery and rape. Consequently, he was placed on probation and two years later, his fingerprints were found in a rape crime scene (Taylor et al., 2007). He was taken into police custody and interviewed for a couple of hours after which he confessed to the series of crime including rape, robbery and housebreaking. His attorney assumed that the juvenile court in the District of Columbia would waiver jurisdiction to the regular court system and as a result he filed a motion appealing on the hearing concerning jurisdiction.

However, the juvenile court did not rule on the attorney’s motion. As an alternative, he filed for a motion based on the argument that the court made this decision having made a full investigation. The judge failed to describe the justification for the waiver and the findings of the investigation. The appeals were all unfruitful as consequently the accused was found to be qualified for the trial. He was tried on rape, robbery and eight counts of housebreaking. He was found guilty on six counts however, he was acquitted of rape based on grounds of insanity (Taylor et al., 2007). This unique verdict meant that the accused would first be taken to a mental institution until he gained his sanity and later on start serving his thirty to ninety years sentence.

His attorney tried to have the criminal indictment nullified by stating that the waiver was null and void. Additionally, he filed a writ asking the court to explain Kent’s detention. The court of appeal turned down the appeal and also did not explain the judge’s investigation. Furthermore, the court stated the waiver was valid. His attorney argued that his client’s rights were denied because he was a minor and added that his constitutional rights were disregarded. The court’s decision in this case was applied in D. C. courts and has an extensive impact (Taylor et al., 2007). The court’s power was increased as per the constitution and it could contend parens patriae as the foundation of juvenile court.

The court had applied equal protection requirement in the 14th amendments to translate to the fact that specific groups of people could get a less severe punishment if there was less protection in the compensating benefit (Siegel and Senna, 2009). In summary, the juvenile court system provided a greater concern for the interests of the minors but offered a less due process.ReferencesSiegel, L. J., & Senna, J. J. (2009). Essentials of criminal justice (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Taylor, R. W., Fritsch, E. J., & Caeti, T. J. (2007). Juvenile justice: policies, programs, and practices (2nd ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.