Search Results

Reducing the Harms of Minority Overrepresentation in American Juvenile Justice

Franklin E. Zimring

in American Juvenile Justice

This chapter identifies some of the key policy choices that must be made in reducing injustices found in American juvenile courts. It argues that reducing the hazards of juvenile court processing may ... More

This chapter identifies some of the key policy choices that must be made in reducing injustices found in American juvenile courts. It argues that reducing the hazards of juvenile court processing may be a better approach to protecting minority youth than just trying to reduce the proportion of juvenile court cases with minority defendants. The chapter is organized into two sections. The first section concerns the conceptual equipment necessary to assess the impact of legal policies on minority populations. The second section attempts to apply the apparatus developed in the first section to discuss recent chapters in juvenile justice law reform: changes in transfer policy, the deinstitutionalization of status offenders, and the embrace of diversion programs.Less

Myths and Realities of Juvenile Justice in Latin America

Mary Beloff and Máximo Langer

in Juvenile Justice in Global Perspective

This chapter provides an overview of the history of Latin American juvenile justice systems until today. The evolution of Latin American juvenile justice presents two crucial moments: (1) its ... More

This chapter provides an overview of the history of Latin American juvenile justice systems until today. The evolution of Latin American juvenile justice presents two crucial moments: (1) its creation at the beginning of the twentieth century with the importation of the American model of juvenile courts; and (2) its transformation in the past twenty-five years with the incorporation of international human rights law into domestic law. The chapter also assess whether the goal of juvenile justice of removing children and adolescents from criminal law has actually been put into action, and considers the recent wave of juvenile justice reforms in Latin America using the Chilean reform as a case study. The chapter shows that while the Chilean reform has brought more due process protections for deviant youth by reducing the percentage of juveniles in pretrial detention, it has likely substantially increased the absolute and relative levels of juvenile confinement.Less

Reclaiming Our Youth: Policing and Protesting Juvenile Injustice

Sekou M. Franklin

in After the Rebellion: Black Youth, Social Movement Activism, and the Post-Civil Rights Generation

This chapter assesses post-civil rights activists in the juvenile justice reform movement (JJRM) from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. It examines how the JJRM's movement infrastructure, along with ... More

This chapter assesses post-civil rights activists in the juvenile justice reform movement (JJRM) from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. It examines how the JJRM's movement infrastructure, along with the regional and local political cultures that shaped the orientation of their key activists, influenced the trajectory of the campaigns. This movement infrastructure created a safe space for marginal youth and youth workers to become engaged in social activism. JJRM campaigns attempted to deinstitutionalize the juvenile justice system and combat disproportionate minority confinement. Unlike the Black Student Leadership Network (BSLN) and the movement initiatives of the 1960s, yet similar to the anti-apartheid movement of the 1980s, JJRM networks were multiracial and multisectoral. The chapter places JJRM within the discussion of youth movement activism and intergenerational politics because the status of marginalized youth in relation to the juvenile justice system alerted social justice and civil rights activists about regressive policies impacting poor communities.Less

No Refuge Under the Law: Racialized Foundations of Juvenile Justice Reform

Geoff K. Ward

in The Black Child-Savers: Racial Democracy and Juvenile Justice

This chapter examines the nineteenth-century foundations of Jim Crow juvenile justice, including the racialized applications of common law protections, the racial politics of houses of refuge, and ... More

This chapter examines the nineteenth-century foundations of Jim Crow juvenile justice, including the racialized applications of common law protections, the racial politics of houses of refuge, and the often horrific ordeals of black youths in the antebellum South. This illustrates how white racial group prerogatives and privileges shaped the administration of these earliest institutional reforms. Throughout the United States, these racialized denials of protection under the law and of democratic participation undermined black youth and community claims to opportunity or representation in the emerging juvenile justice system. Ultimately, this new institution of racialized social control, the white-dominated parental state, was organized to underdevelop black citizens deemed delinquent and black civil society generally and, thus, to maintain the boundaries of a white democracy. For that reason, turn-of-the-century black civic leaders organized to improve the life chances of black youths, and prospects for racial equality in American democracy, through juvenile justice reform.Less

Paternalism and the Social Control of Adolescent Girls: Juvenile Justice Reform in Canada

in Justice for Girls?: Stability and Change in the Youth Justice Systems of the United States and Canada

In 1894, the federal government of Canada legislated its first separate juvenile court. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, separate courts were beginning to be developed in the country. ... More

In 1894, the federal government of Canada legislated its first separate juvenile court. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, separate courts were beginning to be developed in the country. Another focus was on reforming youths who committed criminal offenses and perhaps an early articulation of status offenders, although this covered only girls under 13 and boys under 12 in Ontario. The most well-known and comprehensive legislation — designed to bring youths in youth court not only for federal (criminal) offenses, but also for violation of provincial and municipal by-laws — was passed in 1908. This was the Juvenile Delinquents Act. Youth justice reforms were more seriously entertained by the government during the 1960s and 1970s. This chapter discusses juvenile justice reform in Canada aimed at preventing delinquency among adolescent girls. It looks at various laws passed to achieve this objective, including the Young Offenders Act (1984–2003) and the Youth Criminal Justice Act (2002). It also, compares legislative developments related to youth justice in Canada and the United States.Less

Introduction

Christine Kelly

in Juvenile Justice in Victorian Scotland

The introductory chapter provides an overview of the main themes discussed in the book and its key insights. It highlights the legacy of reform, commenting on some of the connections between the ... More

The introductory chapter provides an overview of the main themes discussed in the book and its key insights. It highlights the legacy of reform, commenting on some of the connections between the nineteenth-century history explored in the book and later developments in twentieth- century Scotland, including the links between the earlier history and the seminal Kilbrandon Report in 1964.Less

Education behind Bars?: The Promise of the Maya Angelou Academy

James Forman

in Choosing the Future for American Juvenile Justice

This chapter provides three reasons for the failure to put education at the center of juvenile justice reform. First, much juvenile justice reform has been driven by lawyers. Second, juvenile justice ... More

This chapter provides three reasons for the failure to put education at the center of juvenile justice reform. First, much juvenile justice reform has been driven by lawyers. Second, juvenile justice reformers have been focused on reducing the number of young people who are incarcerated. In this effort, the reform community has considered the juvenile facilities as inherently toxic and largely beyond reform. Lastly, many who work in the juvenile justice field have come to accept a reduced set of expectations for young people in the juvenile system. Given these conditions, the chapter reiterates that preventing rearrest should not become the reform community's only goal for young people in the system.Less

Historical Overview

Jane C. Murphy and Jana B. Singer

in Divorced from Reality: Rethinking Family Dispute Resolution

This chapter traces the doctrinal and procedural antecedents of the late twentieth-century paradigm shift in family dispute resolution. Doctrinal developments in both the nineteenth and twentieth ... More

This chapter traces the doctrinal and procedural antecedents of the late twentieth-century paradigm shift in family dispute resolution. Doctrinal developments in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries expanded and transformed the judicial role in divorce and custody disputes, ultimately making courts the primary guardians of children's welfare in the face of family breakdown. In addition, the therapeutic underpinnings of progressive-era juvenile justice reform shifted in the mid-twentieth century from the delinquency to the divorce and custody context. Finally, the shift from a fault-based, sole custody regime to a no-fault co-parenting model in the 1980s and early 1990s simultaneously undermined the efficacy of traditional adversary processes and invited ongoing court involvement in families affected by divorce and parental separation—both important elements of the new paradigm.Less

1 Historical Overview

Jane C. Murphy and Jana B. Singer

in Divorced from Reality: Rethinking Family Dispute Resolution

This chapter traces the doctrinal and procedural antecedents of the late twentieth-century paradigm shift in family dispute resolution. Doctrinal developments in both the nineteenth and twentieth ... More

This chapter traces the doctrinal and procedural antecedents of the late twentieth-century paradigm shift in family dispute resolution. Doctrinal developments in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries expanded and transformed the judicial role in divorce and custody disputes, ultimately making courts the primary guardians of children's welfare in the face of family breakdown. In addition, the therapeutic underpinnings of progressive-era juvenile justice reform shifted in the mid-twentieth century from the delinquency to the divorce and custody context. Finally, the shift from a fault-based, sole custody regime to a no-fault co-parenting model in the 1980s and early 1990s simultaneously undermined the efficacy of traditional adversary processes and invited ongoing court involvement in families affected by divorce and parental separation—both important elements of the new paradigm. Less

Starting from a Different Place: The Missouri Model

Tim Decker

in A New Juvenile Justice System: Total Reform for a Broken System

This chapter explores the reforms in the Missouri juvenile justice system. The single most important achievement of Missouri's Division of Youth Services (DYS) is the development of a system and ... More

This chapter explores the reforms in the Missouri juvenile justice system. The single most important achievement of Missouri's Division of Youth Services (DYS) is the development of a system and culture that will endure, achieving exemplary results for years to come. Missouri's juvenile justice system shifted from a traditional correctional approach to facilitating a humane, rehabilitative, and developmental culture in the organization and programs. Moreover, Missouri DYS's safety building blocks have allowed the system to eliminate the use of isolation or separation and mechanical restraints at all levels of residential care. Ultimately, Missouri DYS's system demonstrates that reforming youth-in-custody systems involves visionary leaders, culture change, and proven practice frameworks that focus on young people, families, and communities.Less

Legislative Impact, Political Change, and Juvenile Detention: Comparing South Korea and Japan

Jae-Joon Chung

in Juvenile Justice in Global Perspective

This chapter assesses the impact of legislative change and political change on juvenile justice policy in Japan and South Korea. In Japan, the changes that invite analysis are legislation that ... More

This chapter assesses the impact of legislative change and political change on juvenile justice policy in Japan and South Korea. In Japan, the changes that invite analysis are legislation that shifted policies and procedures in criminal justice and in juvenile justice over the period after the mid-1990s. This was an era of economic recession and modestly expanding crime in Japan. The ruling political party was under pressure as the economic decline continued and public dissatisfaction with the government grew. One result of this situation was significant “get tough” measures directed at juvenile crime and its punishments in 2000 and 2007. The major shift examined in South Korea was the replacement of a long-serving series of right-wing political presidents with popularly elected presidents from left-leaning political parties in the decade after 1997. While there were no major legislative changes in either criminal or juvenile justice, there was ample room for discretionary powers of judges, prosecutors, and administrator to make changes in practice that did not require any shift in formal statutory law.Less