Seeking to describe how and under what legal authority the present day juvenile court was established, this chapter begins by arguing that the present system of juvenile justice is the result of four historical eras including Biblical and Medieval Europe, English History, Early Colonial America, and the Nineteenth Century Reform Movement in the United States. After describing both the child rearing and the discipline techniques characteristic of each of these eras, the author details the development of the juvenile court, its procedures, and its philosophy. Focusing on the first juvenile court, established in Chicago, IL, in 1899, the author summarizes juvenile court procedure and philosophy including informal procedures, a court of no record, and proceedings behind closed doors. After describing how the reader should approach the reading of legal cases illustrating juvenile court issues, the author presents excerpts from Kent V. United States concerning a juvenile’s right to an attorney and Gault et al. concerning delinquency adjudication and granting youths the right to notice of charges. The author also presents proceedings from Winship and McKeiver et al. V. Pennsylvania in order to illustrate the problem of children being sent to institutions for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and the rights of an adolescent to receive a jury of peers. Reference