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The juvenile justice system plays an integral role in the punishment and rehabilitation of the minor criminal offenders in the United States. In addition, it ensures a fair administration of justice for the minor offenders. The purpose of this paper is to explain the justice and correction process for the juveniles in Georgia. It discusses the laws and practices that are applied in the Georgian juvenile justice system.
The juvenile justice process begins with the arrest of the juvenile for committing an offense. Once the juvenile is arrested, he or she is put under the custody of the juvenile justice department. Before the child is held in custody, there should be reasonable grounds to believe that the child acted delinquently. In the event that the police or the juvenile officers need to interrogate the minor, his or her parent or lawyer must be present.
All counties in Georgia have juvenile courts. These courts have the jurisdiction to deal with all criminal cases involving children under the age of seventeen years. The juvenile code enacted in 1971 is the supreme law that guides the conduct of the juvenile courts (Clear, Cole & Reisig, 2012). In the Fifth Amendments, the Supreme Court in Georgia ruled that the child’s parent must be present during the case hearings. Confessions by minors are restricted. In addition, the procedure for admission of such confessions is more thorough than the admission of confessions for adult cases (Clear, Cole & Reisig, 2012). The confessions have to be evaluated by the court of law to ascertain whether the juvenile is of the right age and education. In addition, the court has to ascertain whether the offense was committed knowingly or willingly.
In most of cases involving juveniles, the Georgian authorities rarely detain the children. The juvenile officers are required to investigate and determine whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed with the case. They should also determine whether the juvenile can be released or prosecuted out of custody. Detention is only granted if the juvenile is a threat to the other people (Hatcher, Bride, Oh, King & Catrett, 2011).
In the event that the juvenile officers find that there is substantial proof to proceed to a full hearing, a delinquency charge is issued. The delinquency charge must be signed by the complainant. The charge is then admitted by the court, and the petition commencement date is set. Summons detailing the charges are then issued by the court to the concerned parties.
Unlike in the normal court hearings where the evidence is evaluated to determine if the accused is guilty, the juvenile court hearings safeguard the interests of the child. For instance, in the case of Valessa Lyn Robinson, the court had to evaluate the evidence in her best personal interest. The prosecutor in the juvenile courts does not cross-examine the witnesses with the aim of proving the guiltiness of the defendant. Instead, the prosecutor’s role during the court hearings is to present substantive facts about the case. The evidentiary rules are also established by the presiding judge and vary from case to case. The press and public members are not allowed to follow the court hearings. This is aimed at protecting the innocence of the juvenile. However, the judges may permit the press and other public members of to follow the court proceedings (Hatcher, Bride, Oh, King & Catrett, 2011).
Juvenile hearings are structured in two parts. First, the court has to establish whether the juvenile committed the offense. In the event that the juvenile is in custody, this part is completed within ten days. However, when the juvenile is not in custody, this part is completed within sixty days. By evaluating the evidence, the judge makes a ruling on the charges against the minor. If the judge determines that the child did not commit the offense, the child is released. However, if the judge finds the child as guilty as charged, the case proceeds to a dispositional hearing. In the case of Valessa Lyn Robinson, the jury listed several options. This included the first, second, and third –degree murder. It also listed manslaughter (Roberts, 2000). For instance, after Valessa and her boyfriend murdered Mrs. Robinson, Adam Davis was convicted for first-degree murder, and later sentenced to death. On the other hand, Jon Whispel was convicted for second-degree murder (Roberts, 2000).
The dispositional hearing is the same as the adult sentence delivery hearing. It is held after the first part of the hearing. There are many options that the judge can deliver during the dispositional hearing. (Roberts, 2000). For instance, the judge can release the juvenile back his or her parents. Secondly, the judge can place the child under conditional probation. Furthermore, the judge may recommend the juvenile to the Child Protective services or the school management for rehabilitation measures. Fourth, the judge may recommend detention of child detention for a maximum of ninety days as a punishment for the offense committed. However, violent felonies such as murder, kidnapping, rape, and manslaughter may be punished with detention not exceeding sixty months. This is confirmed in the case of Valessa.
References
Clear, T. R., Cole, G. F., & Reisig, M. D. (2012). American corrections. Belmont, CA. Cengage Learning.
Hatcher, S. S., Bride, B. E., Oh, H., King, D. M., & Catrett, J. F. (2011). An assessment of secondary traumatic stress in juvenile justice education workers. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 17(3), 208-217.
Roberts, D. (2000). That story was really murder. Editor & Publisher, 133(20), 43.
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