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Colonial Period and English Puritan Influence
Poor Law Act 1601- Forcible separation of children of parents, turning children into laborers
Massachusetts Stubborn Child Law 1646- Male Adolescent Disobedience, punishable by death
Prison/Jail Era 1600s to Mid-1800s- Adolescents continued to be housed in adult facilities (Prisons and Jails) or put to death -
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Scholar and Medical Expert Influence
First Juvenile Facility 1788- Robert Young established this facility to educate and instruct adolescents
Trade/ Apprenticeship's 1800s to 1850s- Utilized with the hope of reforming adolescents and turning them into better people
Juvenile Problem 1820s- Juvenile crime had a rapid growth around this time -
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Houses of Refuge and Early Reformation
House of Refuge 1825 to 1890s- Established as an alternative to traditional imprisonment, trying to fix rampant juvenile crime by taking in poor and orphaned adolescents. Largely failed, becoming abusive institutions
People ex rel. O'Connell v. Turner 1870- Seminal case for juvenile justice reform, children received better treatment, foster care born -
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Reformatory Era and Juvenile Probation
Juvenile Court System 1899- First courts established in Chicago and Denver.
Juvenile Court Focus- A state acts as a parent (early parens patriae), begins using non-punitive practices to help children, nurtures juveniles rather than incarcerate, individual help
Parens Patriae- State or court has parental and protective control over its citizens and other denizens under its protection
Common Law- Children under 7 cannot form criminal content -
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Juvenile Courts Mid 1900s to Present
Kent v. United States 1966- Juveniles are entitled to the same due process as adults while under juvenile court jurisdiction
In re Gault 1966- Juvenile criminal defendants are entitled to due process under the 14th Amendment
In re Winship 1970- If a juvenile commits a crime that would be considered criminal by an adult, their guilt must be proven beyond reasonable doubt -
Juvenile Court Mid 1900s to Present
McKeiver v. Pennsylvania 1977- A trial by jury is not constitutionally required in the adjudicative phase of a state juvenile court delinquency case -
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Muddy Era of Juvenile Justice
Lower Arrest- 75% decline in arrests from 1996 to 2019
Modern Juvenile Justice- Critics are divided mainly between whether or not juveniles should receive lighter or harsher treatment
"Juvenile" Charging- Until 2019, New York and North Carolina would charge juveniles as young as 15 as adults. This, however, has changed to 18
Violent Crimes- Juveniles who have committed violent crimes receive different treatment depending on what they did, and some juveniles as young as 10 can be tried as adults