How Juvenile Cases Are Treated Differently

A juvenile is a child or a young person who cannot be regarded as an adult. Juvenile cases are treated differently due to various factors. Children are tried in juvenile courts. In this case of Jack and Diane, the penalizing judge should seek to understand whether both Jack and Diane are first time offender or reiteration lawbreakers. This helps the magistrate to determine the criminal level of the accused ( Steven et al. 2017) . The judge may also want to know whether these offenders were used as an accessory used by the main offender. Children can be manipulated because they do not have a good sense of judgment. Therefore, it is important for the judge handling this case to know whether Jack and Diane were used by an adult to execute this act. He may also want to know whether anyone was hurt and whether the crime was committed in a way that was unlikely to injure anyone. The judge does this to determine the intensity of crime and the ability of criminals. The judge may also want to know the mental health of both Jack and Diane. A person with a mental problem cannot be sentenced instead they should be allowed to access health care. He may also want to the circumstances that led Jack and Diane to commit a crime. Effective juvenile treatment includes multisystem therapy, functional family therapy, and multidimensional therapy which are different from that of adult treatment. These interventions are supposed to strengthen families and reduce delinquent behavior and juvenile substance abuse. Minors are sued for delinquent deeds while adults get sued for “committing crimes” ( Clemens & Stuart, 2016) . Also, children are judged in an arbitration hearing rather than public trial like adults. The purpose of the juvenile delinquency system is to rehabilitate while the adult is to punish. Juvenile courts are informal while the adult court system is informal. Children who enter criminal justice can bring serious problems with them. These problems include health issues, emotional problems, failure in academics, family problems and many others. Addressing these problems requires them to gain full assessment, case direction, and support service that can suit their development stage and their age. This helps them to reform and become good citizens (John & Steven, 2018). Historically, juvenile violators were accorded the same treatment with adult criminals. Children were arrested just like adults held in custody, tried and sentenced by a court that had a choice to order the imprisonment of minors in the same jail with adult criminals. They were also not provided with various due process protections. With time, this has evolved minors are tried in their informal courts. The main agenda of the imprisonment of minor is to rehabilitate the and not to punish them. This is done to prevent them from things like drug abuse, sexual harassment, and victimization. Minor did not have the right to bail as it is given by the present courts. According to the case of two juveniles, the judge may order a house arrest where Jack and Diane are supposed to remain at home for a particular period. Remaining at home will enable their parent to stay with them and also give them counseling while the also observe their behavior. 

References 

Steven M. Cox, Jennifer M. Allen, et al. (2017). Juvenile Justice: A Guide to Theory, Policy, and Practice SAGE Publications 

Clemens, Bartollas   & Stuart J. Miller  (2016) Juvenile Justice in America (8th Edition)   Pearson Publisher 

John T. Whitehead & Steven P. Lab (2018). Juvenile Justice: An Introduction   9th Edition Routledge Publisher