Adjudication and Sentencing
Adjudication refers to the court’s assessment of a case and determining what decision to make. Sentencing is the court’s decision about a given case. It is the course of action that a court decides to take against a law offender. Juveniles usually face a different method of adjudication and sentencing from adult law breakers. Many human right activists have proposed that juveniles be taken to adult courts. Over the years, there have been several perspectives concerning sentencing and adjudication of juveniles.
Young people who commit serious offenses appear before juvenile courts. These people are not given procedural rights; they lack guardianship and protection. The juvenile offenses are categorized into three sections. The felonies offenses are those offenses that are charged against children but not adults. The offenses can be categorized basing on specific statutes; this is considered a status offense. In the courts, there are roles of judges, referees, defense lawyers, petitioners, officers of probation who all have duties to ensure just adjudication.
These procedures are not very different from the adult offense procedures. In fact, in cases where the jury decides that the case can be treated as an adult case, the normal court procedures are followed. There are proponents of the juvenile system where they propose that juveniles be given special handling of their cases. This includes presence of referees, probation officers and even non-judicial officers like officers from children care. However, this does not make the case handling unique since the law takes its course in every case.
Another perspective is that juvenile cases be handled as adult cases. The proponents of this perspective argue that the law is one and that crimes committed deserve same action regardless of the age of the law breaker. They argue that juveniles should be arrested, adjudicated and sentenced just like adults only that they should be put in detention areas set aside for juveniles only. Therefore, juvenile adjudication has been a subject of debate over time and the laws are open to any new changes. This is to ensure fair and just adjudication and sentences to the young criminals.
Reference
Elrod, P., & Ryder, R. S. (2011). Juvenile Justice: A Social, Historical and Legal Perspective (3, revised ed.). Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
