Juvenile Delinquents: Helping and Treatment Philosophy

"Should the juvenile justice system adopt a helping/treatment philosophy or a get tough philosophy for handling juvenile delinquents? I strongly believe that the juvenile justice system should heavily enforce a system in each state and each district where juvenile delinquents are given equal opportunities to prove their remorse for their negative and/or illegal actions. The reasoning behind my opinion is due to the age group that we are assessing. THere are myriad of ways and programs that aid in enhancing the decision-making of youths, however, I feel as though youth court diversion programs are guaranteed to display positive results from these first time offenders.

Local youth court programs connect troubled youths with community mentors and are essential to the criminal justice system. The youth court diversion programs are among the many influential programs which enrich youngsters to better themselves by establishing the importance of, and educating them on the criminal justice system. The programs also teach proper etiquette for these first time offenders, which provides a natural opportunity for their individual growth. These particular programs are an alternative system of justice, and offers first-time juvenile offenders the opportunity to take responsibility for their offenses through community-based sentencing options (Lucas). Neither guilt nor innocence are determined through youth court diversion programs (YCDP), instead, the offender is offered a constructive sentence such as community service, or participating in a guidance session. Community high school mentors are hired within local counties and districts to assist the young juveniles in the courtroom by providing assistance for the process and are a key factor for the two distinct groups of the program, thus exemplifying a beneficial guaranteed product of the program.

There are two important groups of the program. Those two groups are the defendants and the volunteers. The defendants in this process would be classified as the juvenile offenders. They are those who otherwise might receive a permanent record, and become more unresponsive to intervention through the juvenile justice system, and are held accountable for their actions by being given the opportunity to repay the victims and their community for their offenses (Lucas). This group of students are encouraged to remain on the right path in life for the improvement and enhancement of their futures. They gain positive behavioral patterns which lead to judicious behavior and wisdom. Although this is a desired result for the volunteers and leaders of the Youth Court Diversion Programs, the offenders are judged by their peers, who may cause them to feel nervous, but allow a more corrective influence geared towards their conduct. The other group, who are filled of influential distinction are the volunteers. The volunteers are the high school students within the county of which the court is associated who take the time to be of good character and are connected to troubled youths for essentiality in the criminal justice system. These courageous students learn to be responsible advocates for the first-time juvenile offenders. They also learn to become active role models among and within their community, further demonstrating a positive lifestyle for juvenile delinquents to follow. The volunteers are the backbone of the program. The Youth Court Diversion Programs work in the process of an offender admitting responsibility for the offense followed by the offender appearing before a jury of peers while being defended and prosecuted by those very peers. The offender then is given a total of ninety days to complete the sentence that is handed down to them by the jury of peers. The rookie lawyers, or volunteers, learn from very experienced professors, judges, lawyers, or experts in the field of law and become more and more knowledge about the subject as well as the process of law itself.

With each new generation come more reasons for the use of courts, court dates, lawyers, judges, bailiffs, and all of the other important components that are involved in the court process and the criminal justice system. In present-day America, crimes are not only committed by adults. The adults, however, are the main reason that many young people are committing the crimes that they are committing. Children learn from experience and the only experience that they would have is from those much older and wiser than they are. Youngsters who have not even become teenagers yet and have barely had a start on their lives are constantly doing wrong things that send them into an experience that people their age should not have to encounter. There are many law enforcement agencies and incorporations in the United States that offer assistance for helping young people get their lives on the right track from one or two wrong decisions that they may have made such as shoplifting or the use of an illegal substance. Many people are willing to help these children get their lives on the correct track because they may not have someone in their household that cares to provide them with the attention and care that they require as a young person. This is why I believe that the juvenile justice system should heavily enforce the youth court diversion philosophy globally.

Many adults love to help young people. Although it may not be their profession, it is something within their hearts that they deem necessary to fulfill. These major compassionate agencies that help students get back on the right path, and help them become a better student/ individual, use real-life certified judges to conduct the business of the court. The Youth Court Diversion Program is an alternative system of justice; the program offers first-time juvenile offenders an opportunity to take responsibility for their offenses through community-based sentencing options. Neither guilt nor innocence is determined through YCDP. Rather than proving innocence or guilt, a constructive sentence for the juvenile defendant is recommended by the teen defense attorneys and prosecutors and later finalized by the jury and the honorable judge. The importance of this is what is gained by the juveniles at the end of the process. The program is predominately run by high school volunteer participants, excluding the judge and bailiff. These volunteers are high school students grades nine through twelve. These students abide strongly and boldly by the mission statement of the program, and are justiciable followers of the law of the United States. The mission statement of the Youth Court Diversion Program is an early intervention community resource for first-time juvenile offenders. It seeks to reduce recidivism by holding juveniles responsible for their actions through community based sentencing options. These offenders will be sentenced by a jury of their peers and will have the opportunity to expunge their record (Lucas). The vital goals of the program are to reduce the likelihood of juveniles reoffending, to minimize negative labeling of referred youth, to require young people to take responsibility for their actions, to allow the community an active role in addressing juvenile crime, to educate youth about the criminal justice system, and to allow juvenile court time and resources to focus on more dangerous juveniles. The offender admits responsibility to the offense. The court dates take place at the nearest county courthouse, and the cases are held in different rooms according to how many cases are held per court date. The court dates are to be issued once every month, upon the availability of the current presiding judges.

Although the judges seem to be more authoritative, they are not the most powerful voice in the teen courtroom. The high school volunteers and the peer-made jury are very powerful in the courtroom when it comes to establishing a sentence. This is a reason why again it is called youth court. The prosecutor and the defense attorney have different tasks in the diversion program. In YCPD, the tasks of the high school prosecutor are to represent the interests of the people of the community, to investigate the circumstances behind the offense and the background of the offender, to highlight the severity of the offense through questioning of the offender and pointing out aggravating circumstances, to request the appropriate sanctions and sentencing recommendations from the judge and jury, and to read the prosecutors verses from the script along with presenting an opening and closing statement. In YCPD, the tasks of the defense attorney are to represent the interests of the offender, to meet with each offender to discuss the case, to investigate the circumstances behind the offense and the background of the offender, to question the defendant so that his/her side of the story is explained and mitigating factors are introduced, to read the defense attorney's verses from the script along with presenting an opening and closing statement. Inevitably, the defense is responsible for representing the defendant as their client, by reviewing all aspects of the case, including the police report, the offender statement, the victim statement, etc. The defender's opening should describe all evidence of the offense in the most favorable way to their self. Preceding this, a direct examination of the defendant takes place.

The defense attorney merely searches for the jury to realize that the offender has stepped out of his/her character, and has been thoroughly mistaken for the bright student that they are. Both the prosecutor and the defense attorney attempt to win the case, of course, but neither know of the difficulty of pursuing the interest of the judge when they step foot into the courtroom, unless they have previously come into contact with this judge, or know them on a personal level. Therefore, most of these high school lawyers must dress appropriately, speak accordingly, and act as such. The representation as a teen attorney is not only an immediate judgment for the honorable judge, but also for the jury and for the parents and/or legal guardians of the defendants. As a parent who is already ill about the thought of their child going through a court process, they would hope that the person helping represent their child is (responsible enough, dresses neatly, sounds intelligent on the matter, is an active listener, etc.) These things are what every offender's parents look for when they arrive at the courthouse. The prosecutors and defense attorneys must open with a lively hook, in other words, engage the jurors. By engaging the jurors, they are given an immediate attraction to those who approach them, and they will lean to that person's point of view during the debating process upon deciding which sanctions would be best for the offender. They also cannot let self-consciousness get in the way of communication. This prohibits the allowance of a win on any part. Although both the prosecutors and the defense attorneys are accountable and responsible in this teen youth court process, the defense attorney is far more important than the prosecutor. A defense attorney must do all of these things in order to make sure that they are successful at what they do. The defense attorney has more weight on their shoulders than the prosecutor, because the defense attorney must rightfully show and prove to the jury that the defendant was in fact out of their character. The definition of a teen lawyer volunteering at the local Youth Court Diversion Program is someone of both great diligence and desire to help others overcome remorseful behavior.

The defense attorneys and prosecutors go in and review all of the cases that they might have for their one night of the particular month with the director of the program, and are then responsible enough to have all of their information prepared (opening/closing statements and questions) before the next court date. Although the teen lawyer representatives do not face as many 'real-life' lawyers and judges with degrees as they do volunteers, they are still very inclusive and involved with the court cases and the Youth Court Diversion Program itself, and are also exposed to a realistic approach of how their lives could result. The program is willing to help provide sanctions to any youth up to the legal age of 18 and after they become of that age, the student must go through the real-life court process. This proves that high school volunteers of the teen youth court are compassionate and willing enough to volunteer and participate in this process for troubled youths or equivalent or younger ages who deserve yet another chance.

In a traditional court setting, the initial steps for the process of a criminal case generally consist of first arrest, secondly an initial appearance in court, third a preliminary hearing, fourth an arraignment, and fifth a trial. In the arrest, the law-breaker is caught in the wrong by a legal law enforcement officer who may also have a warrant for their arrest. They are then brought to court within one day of their committed crime. If they are not present in court, they may be released. In the initial appearance, the judge establishes main details regarding the defendant as well as his/her crime. A preliminary hearing is not always necessary, but if it is held in a particular court case, the judge may then choose to listen to the testimony of an available witness of the defendant. If the judge comes to the conclusion that there is enough evidence to believe that the defendant is guilty, the offender is then held for trial in a superior court with a set date for arraignment. From this point, the defendant is found either guilty or innocent, and if found guilty, the process is extended with a set date to sentence the defendant for the crime. After this, the trial begins, which is the only part of the process that is similar to that of the Youth Court Diversion Program. The trial consists of opening statements, witnesses' remarks, examinations, cross-examinations, and closing statements.

The level of difficulty among a standard criminal case process in court is extremely high compared to that of a case in the YCPD court. This is yet another factor as to why the Youth Court Diversion Program has volunteers who are willing to give their time to help youngsters overcome their simple mistakes.(Power) The teens of the teen court are very prepared for a life spent in politics, government, and law because of their in-depth experience in the courthouse. Once the first-time juvenile offenders either commit a second crime (showing they had not learned from the first experience), or reached a certain age, the offenders would appear in a real courtroom where there would face a process extraordinarily similar to that of an average everyday criminal case. The sanctions that are given to the child and the overall endurance of the teen youth court experience should be enough for the young individual to realize what they did was wrong, and they will make sure it never happens again. This is why I feel it is important to have this philosophy in place.

The defense attorneys and prosecutors of the youth court are not all one hundred percent aware of everything connected with law. However, there are many things that they (mainly defense attorneys) must notify the defendant of before court such as perjury, lying under oath, and other things. There are several types of laws that these young volunteering lawyers may not know about such as statutory laws, common laws/precedent, administrative laws, and constitutional laws. They also may not be fully aware of the need for laws.(Gibbons) Some of those main needs include: the prevention of anarchy, the protection of freedom(s), the protection of safety and property, and the representation of majority's view of right and wrong dealing with voting. In the Judicial system there are many different courts. The main courthouse building, which may have been noticed by anyone while driving to a desired destination in the community, is not the only courthouse around. The highest court is the Supreme Court, followed by the United States Court of Military Appeals, the Highest State Court, the United States Court of Appeals, the Circuit court of Appeals for Federal Circuit, Military Courts, United States tax court, District Courts, Territorial Courts, Federal Regulatory Agencies, Court of D.C., United States Court of International Trade, and the United States Claims Court. All of these courts provide an example of how thorough the process of a day-to-day real-life criminal court case and also how much the defendant may have to go through. This, unlike the YCPD, can be extremely hectic and time-consuming. (Lucas)

The youth court program teens go through a so called meet and greet with the defendant's family members and/or guardians, as well as their witnesses. This enables the process to go about a lot smoother than it probably would have prior to any general establishment of an introduction of oneself. The defense attorneys are enabled the opportunity to interview each offender prior to the start of any of the cases. The attorneys from this point can more clearly understand in detail what has happened at the scene of the committed offense and is better prepared for when the court case actually begins. The defense attorneys now have a leeway to asking questions. They are given more evidence, and a better chance towards winning the case, by having the advantage of verbal information given by the defendant, and not only having the limitation of using just the information recorded on the police report and written statement. The defense attorney's job is only challenging if they do not acquire a good amount of evidence. From this point, the defense attorney must display to the judge and the jury that the defender was acting out of character, and he or she is truly remorseful for the actions they have shown in committing the offense. The defense attorney would proceed after their opening statement to ask questions such as: How do you feel about what you did? If you could go back to the incident what would you have done differently? What have you done since the incident to rectify things? What are your plans of ensuring you don't repeat these actions? What punishments have you received for your behavior? What effect has you actions had on yourself and your family? How are your grades? What are your hobbies? And many others. The other questions would most likely regard the situation at hand and provide the judge and the jury to get an inside look at the real character of the defendant and show them that he/she has just simply made a mistake, as we all do, theirs just being illegal. The prosecutor is basically a test to see if the defendant was out of character, or does not deserve to even be in the Youth Court Diversion Program because it he or she was not out of character

In conclusion, the jobs of defense attorney and prosecutor in the Youth Court Diversion Program are the key essentials to the process. These high school volunteers have made a major impact on the diversion program by providing troubled youths with a realization of their wrongdoings and giving them the opportunity to have a second chance, thus enhancing prosperity from their mistake. By adopting this philosophy across the nation, juvenile delinquents are given a fair chance to correct their wrongdoings, which I see as fair considering the ages of those who commit these crimes, and willingly come forth to proclaim their remorse for their actions.

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