Juvenile Court Case Study

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Throughout the years there have been many debates on ifregarding whether minors should be tried as adults or not. In most states there are exceptions if requested by the Juvenile Court judge to be processed in the Criminal Court. The courts would need to obtain a “Judicial Waiver” which is the additional request from the Juvenile Court Judge to have the person transferred out of the Juvenile System. Each state has their own judicial waiver, however depending on the state the authority is granted is different. “In some cases, the decision to transfer is left entirely to the judge's discretion. In others, there is a presumption in favor of transfer which can be rebutted by the child's attorney. In some, transfer is mandatory once the judge determines …show more content…
The article is against this child being charged as an adult. However, I disagree. Instead of focusing on putting away a criminal, prosecutors should be more focused on WHY the crime happened to begin with. Studies show that a majority of criminals (any age) commit the crime they do because of exposure to violence, drugs, alcohol, bad parenting, etc. So, instead of putting an 11 year old away for the rest of his life for committing a heinous crime over something as a stupid as a puppy, they should seek mental help. If this child was 18, most likely he would be charged for 20+ years if not life (this depends on the state). I believe that instead of putting a child away for life, the timespan in adult prison should be less than what it would be as an adult and should be more focused on trying to figure out why it happened. Once therapy comes into play, I believe that the child should have a probationary period in the real world to make sure that he can function and understand the concept of right and wrong. Depending on the way that the person reacts to the real world, would then determine the outcome. I believe this because although the brain may not be fully functioned at a younger age, if the parental or guardian situation was accurate, unless a mental disability came into play, a child would know the difference between right and wrong. Studies show that every brain functions differently. One child may develop moral standards by the age of 7 while it may take another child until the age of 14. Either way, figuring out what is causing the brain to take longer, would greatly impact the judicial system and help rebuild a child’s life if they were unfortunate enough to make a stupid