Essay About Juvenile Justice And Rita Kramer

Dilenquent
Essay Preview: Dilenquent
Report this essay
Rita Kramers ” Juvenile Justice Is Delinquent,” a very well written argument,
explains how juvenile delinquents have changed, and are getting away now with almost
everything they do without a severe punishment. Kramer writes clearly to make the reader
understand her essay. Kramer writes that the Juvenile system is very similar to New
Yorks Family Court. The New York Family Court was originally sought to protect
children who were getting in trouble with the law that still considered them infants,
because of their young age. What Kramer is saying is that a teenager that is a criminal
would not be tried or treated as an adult because of the teenagers young age.
Rita states that the present juvenile court system actually encourages the young
delinquent to continue criminal behavior by showing them that they can get away with a
crime. The juvenile court system is very similar to the New York Family Court system
which was made to protect children who are usually under the age of 18 who kept on
running into trouble with law. It was designed to function as helping parents of juveniles.
By protecting those kids who were younger from the age of 18 juveniles always used the
system as a game and said, ” I aint sixteen yet,” they cannot
do anything to me. If the
government then protects them and the juveniles get no punishment, that means that the
government is giving them a second chance repeating crimes.
In the 1950s juvenile delinquents who were caught doing something illegal were not
treated like an adult, because that delinquent was “not criminally responsible by reason
of infancy.” A hearing though would be held but in private to protect the childs identity.
But in the 1960s the juvenile court system changed and it gave juveniles who were called
“respondents” instead criminals, the rights to have a lawyer represent them. On top of that
Milad2
it also gives protection like the criminal court system gives adults who are responsible to
serious penalties if guilty. In paragraph six of Ritas essay she says that the current juvenile
system has made it the defendants lawyers job to protect the young client from any
possibility of rehabilitation. That means that the courts now are also protecting rights of
juveniles, which makes it even more impossible for prosecuters to convict the defendant.
This then offers the child to get away with no punishment and now thinks that he/she have
the right to keep on acting in a misbehaving or unlawful way which had brought him or
her into juvenile court, knowing that there was no big consequence that would happen to
them. If there was any consequences it would be something small like being put in a
facility that contains a TV, basketball courts, probably better food and medical service
than what was provided at home. If the courts send juveniles to facilities like these,
juveniles would keep doing crimes to stay in these facilities. If juveniles have a better life
at the facilities than what they have at home, who wouldnt want to go to these
facilities.That is where the court is wrong because the court bases the judgment on the
persons age not on their crimes, and that does not help the juvenile to be disciplined.
In the early 70s