Juvenile court proceedings were originally conceptualized as civil proceedings

Response

Respond to this discussion board in 500 WORDS, using biblical text, citations from COX ET AL., and PEER REVIEW ARTICLES and include REFERENCES.

DUE: 2/4/2021 NO LATE WORK!!!!

BELOW:THE DISCUSSION BOARD ATTACHED

CH.6 & 7 COX ET AL.

DISCUSSION BOARD GRADING RUBRIC

In some states, a child is considered delinquent if they are beyond parental control, habitually truant from school, repeatedly disobedient, or considered a danger to themselves or others (Cox et al.,). This paper deals with a 15-year-old that is taken before a juvenile court for allegedly refusing to obey his parents’ instruction to be home before 2200 HRS. The underlying question is whether this disobedience would be adjudicated as a delinquent or would the teen be dealt with as an unruly child under the Uniform Juvenile Court Act (UJCA) 1968.

The UJCA 1968 is designed to provide for the moral, mental, and physical development as well as the care and protection of the child who falls under its umbrella. This extends to juvenile in need of treatment, training, and rehabilitation rather than criminal punishment. An attempt to keep families together, unless separation of parents and children is necessary for the children’s welfare or is in the public’s best interest, is a priority. Finally, the UJCA 1968 safeguards the provision of a fair hearing for the protection of juvenile delinquents’ constitutional rights while determining whether a youth is in need of treatment or rehabilitation (Cox et al., 2018).

The development of narrower definitions of delinquency and more formalized due process models is not intended to cause the juvenile court to abandon rehabilitation and treatment. This philosophy began back as early as 1909, when the goal of the juvenile court was more carrot than stick. (UJCA, 1968). In the New International Version, (1973/2011), Hebrews 8:12 it says, “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” This initial concept of rehabilitation and treatment has been affirmed in many decisions and was summarized by the Supreme Court in Gault, where the Court reaffirmed that a child is to be treated and rehabilitated and the process from start to finish was to be of a clinical rather than punitive nature (Faust and Brantingham, 1974). It is important to remember that although the juvenile court operates under the treatment and rehabilitation concept, it is also charged with protecting community interests as well. To fulfill this obligation, the court may resort to incarceration or imprisonment (Cox et al., 2018).

Unruly Children

Section 2(4) of the UJCA 1968 defines an unruly child as a child who does the following:

►While subject to compulsory school attendance is habitually and without justification

truant from school

►Is habitually disobedient of the reasonable and lawful commands of his parent,

or guardian, or custodian and is ungovernable

►Has committed an offense applicable only to a child

► Is in need of treatment or rehabilitation (Cox et al., 2018, p. 163).

According to Section 32 of the UJCA 1968, unruly children cannot be placed in a correctional institution unless the court finds, that they are not amenable to treatment or rehabilitation under a prior non-correctional finding. The unruly child is generally characterized by activities that are noncriminal or minor violations of law. Types of offenses, such as curfew violations and running away from home, are referred to as status offenses that apply only because of the age of the offender. If the same acts were committed by an adult, they would not be considered violations of law. A substantial number of states have separated the types of activities described by the UJCA 1968 as either unruly or noncriminal, and have placed them in the nondelinquent category or in need of supervision Regardless of the title, the importance of the development of this category lies in separating the delinquent from the nonserious violator and in realizing that the behavioral activities characteristic of an unruly child and the child in need of supervision categories are often symptomatic of problems in the juvenile’s home life and environment and might not indicate repetitive or future criminal tendencies. The unruly child category allows the juvenile court to be involved with the youth who needs supervision and allows the court flexibility and more options than treatment as a delinquent would provide. Still, the labels of unruly child, and in need of supervision, may act as millstones around a juvenile’s neck, producing the same stigmatism as a delinquent label. As a result, one of the major benefits of the distinction is lost if an unruly child ends up in court (Cox et al., 2018).

Delinquency

Various states provide for different dispositional options and for different upper ages for juveniles who may be merely unruly and in need of supervision categories. In distinguishing between juveniles whose misconduct is criminal and those that are unruly, it is assumed that the unruly child’s behavior may be of a predelinquent nature and that early remedial treatment might prevent eventual delinquency. However, it may be that the unruly child has more intense emotional and behavioral problems than others who commit a single criminal act or a series of delinquent acts.

Conclusion

The 15-year-old disobedient child would be within the scope of UJCA 1968 in need of supervision. Those categories are generally written without specificity because it is difficult to define and describe all the noncriminal (delinquent) conduct that could ultimately fall within these categories. The term habitually is frequently used to distinguish between isolated incidents and a recurring pattern of incorrigibility, ungovernability, or disobedience. The repetitive nature of these behaviors often serves as the basis for filing a petition and the justification for pursuing treatment. “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out”, (New International Version, 1973/2011, Acts 3:19).

It was noted earlier that in some instances the behavior engaged in by the juvenile and alleged in a petition may reflect neglect rather than an unruly child. A lack of parental supervision, whether due to unwillingness or inability of the parents, may have created a situation within the family that resulted in the juvenile’s behavior. This behavior, although alleged to be unruly in the petition, may have been precipitated by a family crisis resulting in the minor rebelling against the family (Cox et al., 2018).