Juvenial Justice

Juvenial Justice

All legal systems were have distinguished between juvenile delinquents and adult criminals. Youth are usually not considered morally responsible for their behavior. Under the code of Napoleon in France, an example is limited responsibility was given to children under the age of 16. The punishment of juvenile offenders up to the 19th century was often as harsh as those given to adult offenders. In the U.S., young criminals were treated as adult criminals. Sentences for all offenders could be harsh and the death penalty was occasionally imposed.
The first institution only for juveniles, the House of Refuge, was built in New York City in 1824 so that jailed delinquents could be kept away from adult criminals. Half way through the 19th century other state institutions for juvenile delinquents were built, and their inmates soon were not only young criminals but also less serious adult offenders. The juvenile institutions   movement spread rapidly throughout the U.S. and abroad. These early institutions were often very rigid and punitive.
In the second half of the 19th century increased attention was given to the need for special legal procedures that would protect and guide the juvenile offender rather than subject the child to the full force of criminal law. Massachusetts in 1870 and 1880 and New York in 1892 provided for special hearings for children in the courts. As the U.S. juvenile justice system began to develop, jurisdiction over criminal acts by children was transferred from adult courts to the newly created juvenile courts. The first such court was established in Chicago in 1899. One of the principal reasons for the new system was to avoid the harsh treatment previously imposed on delinquent children. An act of wrongdoing by a minor was seen as an indication of the child's need for care and treatment rather than a justification for punishing that child through criminal penalties. Besides the juvenile court, other innovations in working with juvenile...