Juvenile Justice System, The: Deliquency, Processing and the Law [Hardcover]

For introductory courses in Juvenile Justice.This text provides a complete, in-depth overview of all phases of the contemporary juvenile justice system. It examines the nature of delinquency, classifications of juvenile offenders, alternative explanations for juvenile misconduct, juvenile courts and juvenile rights, and corrections.

Preface

The Juvenile Justice System: Delinquency, Processing, and the Law (3rd ed.) is a complete examination of the juvenile justice system. It explores how juvenile offenders are defined and classified and draws on current literature to depict significant stages of juvenile processing.

The most recent juvenile cases are used to illustrate the legal bases for decisions about juveniles. Landmark Supreme Court cases are included, although persuasive decisions from various state courts are also presented to show juvenile justice trends. A legalistic perspective is followed, therefore, to highlight the different rights juveniles have acquired and how different components of the juvenile justice system relate to them. An integral feature of this book is the distinction between status offenses and delinquent offenses. This difference has significant consequences for all affected juveniles.

The history of juvenile courts is described, including crucial events that have influenced the course of juvenile justice. Increasingly, juveniles are extended rights commensurate with the rights of adults. An indication of this trend is the growing use of waivers (certifications or transfers) to criminal court. This option is intended to expose more serious juvenile offenders to more severe punishment forms compared with the possible punishments that juvenile judges may impose. The spreading use of waivers has not always achieved the intended result of more severe penalties for juveniles, however, since many juveniles who are waived to criminal courts receive minimal punishments if they are punished at all.

One explanation is that most juveniles who are transferred to criminal courts are not necessarily the most serious, dangerous, or violent juvenile offenders. A majority of those transferred continue to be property offenders, drug users, and public order and status offenders. Once juveniles are waived to the jurisdiction of criminal courts, their age becomes a mitigating factor. Quite often, this factor trivializes the seriousness of their offending and lessens the punishments imposed. Many cases against juveniles are dropped or reduced to less serious charges. Thus, many juveniles who are tried as adults receive sentences that are comparatively less severe than those that would otherwise be contemplated and imposed by juvenile judges. One potential penalty that receives increasing attention however, is the death penalty applied to juveniles. Current case law about imposing the death penalty as a punishment for juveniles is examined and several juvenile death penalty cases are described.

Juveniles are not only classified according to type of offense, but the35 are also tracked according to the nature of offenses committed across: years. Delinquency is defined and measured according to several popular indices, such as the Uniform Crime Reports and the National Crime Victimization Survey. No single resource discloses the true amount of delinquency in the United States.

The major components of the juvenile justice system are featured;; including law enforcement, prosecution and the courts, and corrections. Corrections is presented in a broad context, with each correctional component described. Correctional strategies ranging from diversion to full-fledged incarceration are featured, together with a discussion of the favorable and unfavorable dimensions of such programs. One interesting; feature is a section devoted to recidivism among juveniles, depending on the nature of the treatment program described. Thus, community-based correctional programs are assessed, together with probation and parole alternatives for managing a growing juvenile offender aggregate. Electronic; monitoring and home confinement are described as strategic and technological means of coping with growing numbers of juvenile offenders.

The book's features include a glossary, key terms at chapter ends, and review questions that highlight chapter contents. Introductions to chapters are vignettes that lead into subsequent material. At critical points throughout chapters, supplemental boxes describe events or incidents that complement different sections. Often these are news stories that use some of the key terms presented. A comprehensive reference section is also included. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Writing a book is a labor of love for those who like to write. This process is enhanced with the enthusiastic support of the publisher and its representatives. I have been profoundly influenced over the years in this project and others by the different editors with whom I have worked at Prentice Hall. It is fitting to acknowledge their roles, past and present, for this work. The Juvenile Justice System: Delinquency, Processing, and the Law was originally signed and promoted by Chris Cardone, the Criminal Justice Editor at Macmillan Publishing Company. When Prentice Hall acquired Macmillan, my new editor was Robin Baliszewski, who continued supporting and encouraging my writing efforts in this and other projects. Then Neil Marquardt provided me with substantial assistance and guidance in this project. I extend a special thanks to Neil for working with me closely in formulating my book projects and amassing crucial feedback from competent reviewers who take seriously the task of reviewing texts and offering constructive criticisms. I look forward to continuing this kind of working relationship with the new editors, Kim Davies and Marion Gottlieb. The key person responsible for maintaining the production schedule and discovering typographical errors, missing references, or stylistic inconsistencies is the production editor. Naomi Sysak performed this chore on the second edition, while Linda Pawelchak was the head beancounter on the present edition. I cannot begin to count the number of telephone calls made between author and production editor during the nine months preceding a book's publication. Having reared three children, I can honestly say that awaiting the final book product is more anxiety-laden than a hospital waiting room.

Assisting in the delivery process are academicians who review the book manuscript. The best reviewers are the most critical reviewers, since any book is amenable to improvement. While not everyone agrees on how books should be organized and which materials should be included, the fact is that most books are influenced significantly by the useful input of academic peers. While I assume responsibility for errors of fact and the level and style of the book's prose, I am indebted to the following reviewers for their thoughtful analyses and criticisms of this edition: Jean Clouartre, New Hampshire Technical Institute; Bruce T. Smith, Ohio University; and Ed Whittle, Florida Metropolitan University.

Dean Champion

• Clear description of juvenile justice processing through arrest, intake, adjudication, and disposition
• Examination of the many dimensions of police-juvenile relations
• Description of classification systems for juveniles, including state-based risk assessment inventories
• Discussion of the jail removal initiative and deinstitutionalization of status offenses
• Comprehensive discussion of intermediate punishments for juveniles, including home confinement, electronic monitoring, and other community corrections alternatives
• Extensive review of the juvenile probation and parole revocation process
• Detailed portrayal of the latest blended sentencing statutes applicable to violent juveniles
• Full complement of ancillaries, including instructor's manual, test bank, comprehensive glossary, up-to-date bibliography, discussion questions at chapter ends, and suggested readings

DEAN J. CHAMPION is professor, Department of Criminal Justice, Texas A&M International University. Dr. Champion has taught at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, California State University-Long Beach, and Minot State University. He earned his Ph.D. from Purdue University and B.S. and M.A. degrees from Brigham Young University. He also completed several years of law school at the Nashville School of Law.

Dr. Champion has written more than 25 texts and/or edited works and maintains memberships in ten different professional organizations. He is a lifetime member of the American Society of Criminology and Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He is former editor of the ACJS/Anderson Series on Issues in Crime and Justice (1993-1996) and the Journal of Crime and Justice (1995-1998). He was the Visiting Scholar for the National Center for Juvenile Justice in 1992 and is presently first vice president of the Midwestern Criminal Justice Association.

Among his published books for Prentice Hall are Basic Statistics for Social Research (1970, 1981); Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology (1993, 2000); The Juvenile Justice System: Delinquency, Processing, and the Law (1992, 1998, 2001); Corrections in the United States: A Contemporary Perspective (1990, 1998, 2001); Probation, Parole, and Community Corrections (1990, 1996, 1999); Policing in the Community (w/George Rush) (1996); and The Administration of Justice Systems (forthcoming). Works with other publishers include The Sociology of Organizations (McGraw-Hill); Research Methods in Social Relations (John Wiley); Sociology (Holt, Rinehart and Winston); The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (Praeger Publishers); Juvenile Transfer Hearings (w/G. Larry Mays) (Praeger Publishers); Measuring Offender Risk (Greenwood Press); and Criminal Justice in the United States (Wadsworth).

Dr. Champion's primary research interests relate to attorney use in juvenile justice proceedings and plea bargaining.

The Juvenile Justice System: Delinquency, Processing and the Law, fourth edition, is a complete examination of the juvenile justice system. It examines how juvenile offenders are defined and classified and draws on current literature to depict significant stages of juvenile processing.

Current juvenile cases are used to illustrate the legal bases for decisions about juveniles. Landmark Supreme Court cases are included, although persuasive decisions from various state courts are presented to show juvenile justice trends. A legalistic perspective is used, therefore, to highlight the different rights juveniles have acquired and how different components of the juvenile justice system relate to them. An integral feature of this book is the distinction between status offenses and delinquent offenses. This difference has significant consequences for all juveniles affected.

The history of juvenile courts is described, including crucial events that have influenced the course of juvenile justice. Increasingly, juveniles are extended rights commensurate with the rights of adults. An indication of this trend is the growing use of waivers (certifications or transfers) to criminal court. This option is intended to expose more serious juvenile offenders to more severe punishment forms compared with the possible punishments that juvenile judges may impose. However, the spreading use of waivers has not always achieved the intended result of more severe penalties for juveniles, since many juveniles who are waived to criminal courts receive minimal punishments if punished at all.

One explanation is that most juveniles who are transferred to criminal courts are not necessarily the most serious, dangerous, or violent juvenile offenders. A majority of those transferred continue to be property offenders, drug users, public order and status offenders. Once juveniles are waived to the jurisdiction of criminal courts, their age becomes a mitigating factor. Quite often, this factor trivializes the seriousness of their offending and lessens the punishments imposed. Many cases against juveniles are dropped or reduced to less serious charges. Thus, many juveniles who are tried as adults receive sentences that are comparatively less severe than those that would otherwise be contemplated and imposed by juvenile judges. However, one potential penalty that receives increasing attention is the death penalty applied to juveniles. Current case law about imposing the death penalty as a punishment for juveniles is examined, and several juvenile death penalty cases are described.

Juveniles are not only classified according to type of offense, but they are also tracked according to the nature of offenses committed across years. Delinquency is defined and measured according to several popular indices, such as the Uniform Crime Reports and the National Crime Victimization Survey. The fact is that no single resource discloses the true amount of delinquency in the United States.

The major components of the juvenile justice system are featured, including law enforcement, prosecution and the courts, and corrections. Corrections is presented in a broad context, with each correctional component described. Correctional strategies ranging from diversion to full-fledged incarceration are featured, together with a discussion of the favorable and unfavorable dimensions of such programs. One interesting feature is a section devoted to recidivism among juveniles, depending upon the nature of the treatment program described. Thus, community-based correctional programs are assessed, together with probation and parole alternatives for managing a growing juvenile offender aggregate. Electronic monitoring and home confinement are described as strategic and technological means of coping with growing numbers of juvenile offenders.

Every effort has been made to include the most up-to-date sources, references, and other materials. Thus, at the time this book went into production, the most currently available material was used as the bases for tables, figures, and juvenile justice statistics. The most current material is not always that current, however. For example, government documents about juvenile justice statistics are published from twelve to eighteen months from the time the information is actually collected and analyzed. Therefore, it is not unusual for a government document published in 2002 to report "recent" juvenile delinquency statistics for 2000. This situation is common, since governmental compilation and reporting of such information is a slow and tedious process. It is very unlikely, therefore, that the government will report 2002 information in 2002. However, the historical factual information about juveniles and the juvenile justice system does not change. Also, there are very few changes in juvenile laws from year to year. Of course, new information is constantly being generated by researchers and government agencies. As a textbook ages, therefore, those seeking more current information about juvenile delinquency trends and other statistical information can obtain additional data from several sites on the Internet. Several relevant Internet sites have been listed at chapter ends. I have sought to provide the reader with the best and most recent information available at the time this manuscript was prepared.

Features and Ancillaries

Several important features and ancillaries have been prepared for this book. First, there are chapter objectives that outline what each chapter is designed to accomplish. Key terms that are fundamental to understanding the juvenile justice system, the criminal justice system, and various programs and processes are highlighted in boldface. A complete glossary of these terms is provided in an appendix. Each chapter contains a summary, highlighting the chapter's main points. At chapter ends, a list of suggested readings is provided. These are intended to supplement materials presented in each chapter. Thus, if students wish to learn more about any specific topic, these references may be consulted easily. Also included at chapter ends are questions for review. Students are encouraged to study these questions and learn to answer them based on chapter information provided. These questions may also be used in preparation for semester or quarter examinations.

For instructors, an Instructor's Manual and Test Bank has been provided. This Instructor's Manual and Test Bank includes chapter objectives and summary information. It also includes true/false, multiple choice, and short-answer essay questions that can be used for examination purposes. Any instructor who adopts this book may request an Instructor's Manual and Test Bank on computer diskette in one of several popular software formats. A diskette containing this information is furnished upon request by contacting the author directly at the addresses provided below.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.