Richard Barrington - The Juvenile Court System: Your Legal Rights

When juveniles appear before a court of law, the more they know about how the system works, the better they can protect their rights.

Many of the rights and protections provided in the juvenile justice system stem from the case of a teenager who was arrested more than fifty years ago. Like Torey Adamcik, fifteen-year-old Jerry Gaults problems started by choosing the wrong friendin this case, someone who liked making obscene phone calls. When Jerry was arrested because he was present when one of these phone calls was made, he was assumed not to have any of the rights normally afforded to adults when they are arrested. He received a six-year sentence.

The case eventually went to the Supreme Court, which overturned the conviction. The Supreme Courts opinion made clear that even though Jerry was a minor, he was still entitled to the basic rights of due process guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.

The Gault case helped provide juveniles with a series of basic protections under the law. As a practical matter, though, the justice systems first priority is often to prosecute rather than to defend the rights of people who have been arrested. An understanding of what your rights are, and when they apply, will best allow you to exercise those rights when you need to. After reading this book, a young person should be better prepared both to stay out of legal trouble and to handle legal trouble if it comes up.

CHAPTER 1

LEARNING THE SYSTEM

T he worst time for teenagers to start to learn about the juvenile court system is when they find themselves in trouble. At that point, they may find out that what they dont know can definitely hurt them.

This is not to say the juvenile court system is the enemy of young people. In a way, it is just the oppositeit is a special branch of the U.S. justice system that is designed to meet the needs and circumstances of people who are old enough to have violated the law, but who may not yet be old enough to fully understand the meaning and consequences of their actions.

For better or worse, juvenile courts are part of a system, and like any system, this one has rules and procedures. The more a person understands about how the system works, the better that person will be able to protect his or her rights and interests. The following is a look at some of the basics of that system.

WHO IS CONSIDERED A JUVENILE?

The word juvenile is used generally to describe someone who is physically or psychologically not yet fully mature. From a legal standpoint, it applies to people who fall under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court system. This means that they will be subject to different procedures and penalties than someone being tried as an adult.

Of course, the definition of what it means to be fully mature is a matter of opinion, so each state defines a specific age at which a person is no longer considered a juvenile. This age varies from state to state, but in most states eighteen is the magic numberin those states, an eighteen-year-old accused of a crime will be tried as an adult. In some states, though, sixteen- or seventeen-yearolds are tried as adults.

Whatever the age limit in a given state, sometimes the nature and circumstances of a crime are such that even someone within the age range for juvenile court can be tried as an adult.

STRUCTURE OF THE JUVENILE COURT SYSTEM

One of the challenges in understanding the juvenile court system is that it varies from state to state. However, there are similarities in the different stages of the process, so the upcoming section on case flow will help make sense of what happens when one is brought before any court within the juvenile court system. First, though, the following are some of the key variables that will determine where that process takes place and who makes the decisions:

Jurisdiction: The justice system is made up of local, state, and federal jurisdictions, and most crimes involving juveniles are determined according to state laws. Some states leave it to local courts (such as a county or town court) to handle juvenile violations, while others use state courts for this purpose.