The Juvenile Justice System: Their Rights And Process

Submitted By june2513
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Juvenile Justice System: Their Rights/Process
The juvenile justice system of today is remarkably different in the scope, purpose, and operation that the early founders of the system ever envisioned. Some elite people call for the abolition of the juvenile justice system. The juvenile court system in the United States has been in existence since 1899. Over the past century, the juvenile justice system has been marked by the concerns in how to treat juveniles. The juvenile justice system is a network of interrelated social service and criminal justice agencies designed and operated for the treatment and care of children/youths. To understand the juvenile law and rights, you first have to know a little history and what the law is when it comes to juveniles. (Taylor & Fritsch, 2011)
Before the twentieth century, juveniles were essentially “chattel”- (the legal term for property), juveniles were viewed as property in the eyes of the law. Juveniles were bought, sold, and treated like any other property with the owner being the person in total control of the child- (parents were free to sell their children into slavery, they could care for and discipline their children as they saw fit.) Juveniles was treated the same as adult in the criminal justice system and subject to the same penalties, including death- as young as seven were put to death. According to Taylor & Fritsch, 2011 “Age seven was established in early Roman laws, adopted by the English common law, and eventually brought into the American system of justice. When a juvenile was convicted of a crime, they were sent to the same prisons as adults.” They did not receive special protections in the criminal justice nor allocated special privileges in other segments of society either. (Taylor & Fritsch, 2011)
The criminal justice system and other