The article examines: (1) the origin and goals of the juvenile justice system; (2) the Constitutional guarantees of due process and of equal protection; (3) differences between the process accorded in California's courts of criminal jurisdiction and in the State's juvenile courts; (4) prosecutorial discretion; and (5) the Constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The focus of California's juvenile justice system has shifted in recent years from the protection and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders to their punishment and the protection of society, rendering illusory the justification for the system's existence. The application of the amended California Penal Code 667, which specifically includes prior felony juvenile adjudications for consideration as prior felony convictions for purposes of sentence enhancement, places the State judiciary in the position of attempting to give effect to the intent of the legislature within the existing framework of the juvenile court. Such a paradox not only strains the integrity of the judicial system, but calls into question the judiciary's commitment to upholding the protections embodied in the State and Federal Constitutions. Footnotes