U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

In a Child's Best Interest: Juvenile Status Offenders Deserve Procedural Due Process

NCJ Number
165620
Journal
Law and Inequality Volume: 10 Issue: 253 Dated: (1992) Pages: 253-284
Author(s)
E M Smith
Date Published
1992
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the consequences of adjudications of juvenile status offenders concludes that these noncriminal offenders should receive the procedural protections provided both adults and juvenile delinquents because status offense adjudications can result in deprivations of liberty and increased adult sentences later.
Abstract
Juvenile status offenders and juvenile delinquents receive disparate procedural protection. However, bootstrapping (reclassifying a status offender as a delinquent for violating a court supervision order) and contempt of court proceedings can increase the severity of status offender dispositions. The result is that noncriminal offenders can be placed in institutions. Allowing secure confinement reveals the unfortunate reality that these juveniles are receiving punishment and not just rehabilitation and treatment. In addition, status offense adjudications can ultimately have severe repercussions at the time of an adult conviction. The unfairness of current judicial and legislative approaches to status offenders indicate the need for State legislatures to provide a clear right of representation to status offenders, for juvenile courts to require counsel for any child facing the possibility of home removal or commitment to a secure or nonsecure institution, and for States to provide status offenders with the same procedural protections that delinquents receive. Footnotes