The United States Juvenile justice system has evolved into its current form due to constant developments over a period of time. Children were kept with other criminals in United States prisons in earlier times, and a separate criminal justice system for juveniles, is relatively new in the United States. The idea of juvenile justice has developed in the 19th century as a separate entity from the adult criminal justice system in the United States. This paper intends to discuss US juvenile justice system and also analyses the significant developments that affected the area of juvenile justice in significant ways (Edwards, 2008, p. 12-13).
The juvenile court, established in the year 1899 in the cook county, state of Illinois became the first juvenile justice court of the United States. This was a significant development in the history of juvenile justice in the United States because it legally segregated the juvenile and adult criminal justice system. Now the issues of juveniles were considered in different ways. It also helped in improving their behavior because it helped them in understanding their problems and improving their behavior. Juvenile courts wisely interpreted the rule of “Parens Patrea” and a foundation for modern and future oriented juvenile justice was laid by these courts in the United States (Edwards, 2008, p. 26-28).
In another significant development, the United States Supreme Court recognized juveniles’ constitutional rights in the year 1967. In re Gault, Juveniles were given various rights by the US supreme court that were not available to them before a decision. The United States Supreme Court ruled that even proceedings of juvenile court are civil in nature, juveniles suffer loss of liberty (Gold, 2007, p. 66). These two developments played the most important role in the founding of an efficient juvenile justice system in the United States.
References
Edwards, J. M. (2008). Introduction to The Juvenile Justice System. USA: Lulu.com.
Gold, S. D. (2007). In Re Gault: Do Minors Have the Same Rights as Adults? Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish.
