In my research paper, I decided to open the concept of judicial protection of the juvenile justice system. However, to understand more the problem and all aspects, firstly, I need to explain what the criminal law is and when it was formed.
The Criminal Law of the United States was formed and developed under the influence of English law of the precedents. The USA is federal country, which has federal criminal laws and criminal laws of individual states. These two systems are parallel. The federal criminal laws set only responsible for the crimes that infringe on the security of the United States ( treason , espionage ), and for the crimes of federal employees and other criminal interests concerning some or all states (sales and marketing of drugs, car theft , etc.). The most of crimes are provided in the legislation of individual states. In the middle of the XX century, the USA started a movement for the reform of criminal law. In the most states are adopted new codes.
The penalty in the US is the death penalty, prison, probation, and fine. The US Supreme Court has limited the death penalty in some states only committing murder or deprivation of life due to more serious crime. The death penalty is carried out in different states in different ways: electric chair, the gas chamber, lethal injection, hanging, firing squad. In some states (there are more than ten) the death penalty is abolished and replaced with life imprisonment.
According to the federal law, the death penalty can be imposed for a number of serious crimes, such as the murder of a federal officer committed by drug traffickers.
The imprisonment can be assigned to different terms, and through absolute drafting penalties for multiple offenses, these terms are much higher than average life expectancy, for example, for more than 120 years, or condemned to two-life sentences. The fine is the punishment, which appoints for less serious crimes.
The criminal responsibility of the minors is one of the main problem in the criminal law. At this age, we may still re the person and put him into the right way. So much attention is needed to bring minors to justice. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this institution in terms of the future identification and socialization of a juvenile in society.
The USA has special characteristic of the system of protection of minors in criminal proceedings.
The US law does not provide the mandatory participation of defense counsel in criminal cases concerning minors, although defense counsel can be declared binding in individual cases. In the recent years, the United States changes the approaches to justice for minors. Becoming stronger the attraction to the recognition of the punishment, not rehabilitation of criminals. More and more states review the legislation about the minors in the direction of increasing their responsibility.
The Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees to every defendant the right to have the counsel. This right understands that in all cases, except for cases of minor offenses, which cannot end up in the prison, the poor defendants, including minors, have the right to have the counsel. The lawyers can participate in criminal proceedings of the juvenile as by invitation or by other purposes.
In the US, there are three basic models of protection of the indigent defendants, including the juveniles:
The appointment of private lawyers in each particular case done in two ways - based on “ad hoc” or coordinated basis. The essence of the first is that the defenders appointed from among private lawyers without following the method of rotation and no special requirements for the qualification of a lawyer. Lawyers usually assigned on a rotational basis depending on their field of specialization and complexity of the case.
The contract system involves making state, county contracts with private lawyers, law firms or associations to ensure the protection of the poor in criminal cases. The significant advantage of the contract system is the opportunity to plan the budget amount of funds required for this purpose.
The programs of public defenders - including state or civil society organizations, staffed by full-time lawyers on a full or part-time. These organizations are full of well-trained and well equipped with different kinds of lawyers, who defend the poor in criminal cases. Typically, these programs act in big cities.
Within these systems, the various programs operates in the protection of minors. Thus, one of the main challenges for the proper protection is an excessive number of cases involving minor, attributable to a lawyer. Defenders often do not have time to meet with their clients. The funds allocated for the implementation of child legal representation in criminal proceedings is not able to provide the costs of their protection. This situation requires some improvements. The lawyers involved in these programs, hiring students, who help them, allowing them to engage in cases that are more complex.
When we measure the system of protection of minors in criminal proceedings in the United States, we should note that despite the absence of a lawyer compulsory Institute for Minors, the system of the protection of poor children is quite high.
Noticeable here is the role of the state, which provides funding and other support to various programs of protection of minors in criminal proceedings. If the resources are full, these programs develop innovative ways of representation of the interests of the minors. Understanding the essence of services provided by these programs and their proper application, can help to choose alternative punishment measures certainly have a positive impact on child development.
In the US, the issue of specialization of lawyers in the affairs of children due to the presence of special programs actually resolved, which have positive impact on the effectiveness of the protection of rights and interests of minors in criminal proceedings. The US judicial system offers many original maelstrom
Of solving the problems arising in the protection of minors in criminal proceedings, especially in the protection of disadvantaged minors.
The minors in terms of intellectual and volitional development are behind the adults. Their life experience is still insufficient, and if there are shortcomings in their education, they can properly assess the specific situation, choose an improper course of conduct and interpret in the wrong way the content of concepts such as courage, maturity, an example of following. Therefore, the law states limit the age of criminal responsibility; additional forms of criminal responsibility replace other measures, attaching special importance to the circumstances, mitigating punishment; boundaries of imprisonment.
In my opinion, the age features of minors and require strengthening of their legal protection before the general judgment on the use of pre-trial investigation and trial of some special rules that are not changing and not abolishing to the general procedural form of the criminal proceedings, would create additional procedural safeguards for minors.
Works Cited
Sickmund, M.; Sladky, A.; Kang, W. (2014). "Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics: 1985-2011". National Center for Juvenile Justice.
"Stats - Child Or Adult? - A Century Long View | Juvenile Justice | FRONTLINE | PBS". Pbs.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Mar. 2016 . <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/stats/childadult.html>.
"U.S. History In Context - Document". Ic.galegroup.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Mar. 2016 . <http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/uhic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=UHIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE|CX3403000164&mode=view&userGroupName=gray02935&jsid=afff0b312d67c1a96c0cbf3fc4706140>.
"Youth In The Justice System: An Overview | Juvenile Law Center". Jlc.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Mar. 2016 . <http://jlc.org/news-room/media-resources/youth-justice-system-overview>.
"A Separate System For Juveniles". Cliffsnotes.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Mar. 2016 . <http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/criminal-justice/the-juvenile-justice-system/a-separate-system-for-juveniles>.
