Learning Outcome Goal:

Engage in critical self-inquiry as a criminal justice student. Evaluate how one's personality inclines one to interpret current social movements.

Juvenile Courts and Corrections

Like an adult court, you have a Judge, a Prosecutor, and a Defense Attorney. The difference is other professionals, including social workers, Guardians Ad Litem (an attorney representing youth on what's in their best interest when their parents/guardians cannot), therapists, teachers, advocates (for both the youth and parents), and probation officers. Juvenile courts are interesting, and I encourage you to watch one if you have the time. They are open to the public (in Colorado) unless it's a specific hearing in which they will close the courtroom. You will see a young 10-year-old barely reaching over the podium to speak to the judge, a youth being taken out in shackles, and about four to five professionals debating on what they believe is in the best interest of these youth.

There are also different levels of Juvenile courts; you have a municipal court that oversees city ordinance violations and infractions occurring within city limits that have been approved and signed by the City Council; these can include Minor in Possession (MIPs), fights in school, traffic, low-level harassment (this varies in each municipality). The county court will oversee low-level thefts, fake IDs, civil cases (debt collection, landlord/tenant disputes, contract disputes), and school fights. District courts oversee criminal cases, such as crimes against persons and property damages (depending on the level of damages). In Colorado, we have 22 judicial districts, and soon, we will have 23 judicial districts, such as the 18th judicial district, which encompasses Arapahoe, Elbert, Lincoln, and Douglas County. Elbert, Lincoln, and Douglas County will be part of the 23rd District, and Arapahoe will remain in the 18th. Why did they split? Differences in politics! All the counties aside from Arapahoe County were considered "too punitive on crime," and they would push back on any "lenient approach that the Chief Justice and elected DA would try to implement. Each district has its Chief Justice and DA, and they have a significant say in addressing crime in their district.

There are also specialty courts, such as drug courts for youth who have substance use issues and mental health courts for youth who have mental health issues and may be the leading cause of their behavior that led them to committing a crime. Denver started a gun court, which is very unique on its own. The program has been around for a few years, so it's relatively new to the specialty court programs.

The juvenile corrections system in every part of the country has a negative perspective. First, the terminology changed from "corrections" to "services center." In the early '90s or maybe the '80s, the juvenile corrections system was under the Department of Corrections (adult system). Then, it was moved under the Colorado Department of Human Services, where it remains. Colorado has about 13 youth service centers across the state, split into regions encompassing one or more counties. Not every service center is a commitment facility where youth serve a sentence imposed by the court. Some of these centers are "detention centers," where youth are held pending the outcome of their case or if they are reminded for a short period for a violation of their community supervision. A federal law passed in 2018 called the Family First Act, which was meant to reduce out-of-home placements from child protective services and detention. Every year since then, each region loses bed space to house a youth. The approach is to serve these youth in the community if their charge is not a violent crime like a murder charge or a serious bodily injury. I was a client manager/parole officer at the Division of Youth Service. I worked with youth inside the facility and out in the community. At the same time, I decided to leave that role due to differences in their policies and approaches, I believe that the opposing perspectives on these centers are as accurate as possible. With all of the juvenile reforms, changes have been implemented since I left, but there is so much work.

I have provided a lot of material; please note I expect you to read only some of the material, but read as much as you can.

Guest Speaker:

Juvenile Justice from a Prosecutor's Perspective 1.mp4 - OneDrive.html

Readings and Videos:

THE TRUE JUVENILE OFFENDER_ AGE EFFECTS AND JUVENILE COURT SANCTIONING.pdf

MEARS, D. P.et al. The "True" Juvenile Offender: Age Effects and Juvenile Court Sanctioning. Criminology,[s. l.], v. 52, n. 2, p. 169-194, 2014. DOI 10.1111/1745-9125.12034. Disponvel em: https://research-ebsco-com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/linkprocessor/plink?id=8a85803b-e494-338b-a51e-7792290a0476.

Prosecuting Adolescents in Criminal Courts_ Criminal or Juvenile Justice_.pdf

Kupchik, A. (2003). Prosecuting Adolescents in Criminal Courts: Criminal or Juvenile Justice?Social Problems,50(3), 439-460. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2003.50.3.439

The Seychelles Juvenile Court and the Right to a Fair Trail.pdf

Mujuzi, J. D. (2020). The seychelles juvenile court and the right to a fair trial: Implementing article 19(2) of the constitution, sections 94-98 of the children act and the children act (juvenile court) rules. Statute Law Review, 41(2), 159-188. https://doi.org/10.1093/slr/hmz016

(The Seychelles article is very long; I don't expect you to read the entire article. You can review what catches your attention and go from there)

Recidivism in a juvenile courtsponsored delinquency prevention program.pdf

Windell, J. O., & Axelrod, B. N. (2023). Recidivism in a juvenile courtsponsored delinquency prevention program. Juvenile & Family Court Journal, 74(3), 5-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12243

Assessing the effectiveness of drug courts on recidivism_ A meta-analytic review of traditional and non-traditional drug courts.pdf

Mitchell, O., Wilson, D. B., Eggers, A., & MacKenzie, D. L. (2012). Assessing the effectiveness of drug courts on recidivism: A meta-analytic review of traditional and non-traditional drug courts. Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(1), 60-71.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2011.11.009

Adultification in Juvenile Corrections_ Examining the Orientations of Juvenile and Adult Probation and Parole Officers.pdf

Bolin, R. M., & Applegate, B. K. (2016). Adultification in juvenile corrections: Examining the orientations of juvenile and adult probation and parole officers. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(2), 321-339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-015-9298-2

Building Criminal Capital Behind Bars.pdf

Bayer, P., Hjalmarsson, R., & Pozen, D. (2009). Building criminal capital behind bars: Peer effects in juvenile corrections. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 124(1), 105-147. https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.2009.124.1.105

Community Corrections Facilities for Juvenile Offenders in Ohio.pdf

Lowenkamp, C. T., Makarios, M. D., Latessa, E. J., Lemke, R., & Smith, P. (2010). Community corrections facilities for juvenile offenders in ohio: An examination of treatment integrity and recidivism. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37(6), 695-708. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854810363721

_em_MILLER V. ALABAMA__em_ AND THE PROBLEM OF PREDICTION-1.pdf

Marshall, M. (2019). miller v. alabama and the problem of prediction. Columbia Law Review, 119(6), 1633-1670.

Aurora Resolution Sparks Conversation Around Bed Capacity at Colorado Juvenile Detention Centers

Colorado Shuts Down Youth Center

Gunshots Fired At Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center During Escape Attempt, Arrest Made

Changes Coming To Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center

Whistleblower: Staff attacked inmate at Mount View Youth Services

Resource:

Authorities locate, detain two teenagers after escape from Mount View Youth Services Center, carjacking

I was the client manager for one of these teens at that time.

Discussion 6 - Juvenile Court and Corrections

You are tasked with posting an initial response to this reading by Thursday. Then, you should engage in a discussion with your class members, which should involve responding to their posts. A minimum of 2 substantive response posts should be submitted by Sunday.

What you should include in your initial post:

• Using the readings and your experience, respond to the guiding question, "'How does your positionality incline you as an individual to act?"As a future professional in the criminal justice system, how will you understand and engage in meaningful and impactful change without turning your back on your positionality? Find one additional article to back up your claim. You may decide to use this article for the final paper. (Note:think of what you know of the juvenile system and the impacts of court decisions for the juvenile's and the community)

Overall Intersession Description (also found in the syllabus)

Weekly, you will participate in online learning activities intended to provide a community of developmental and discursive support for your learning. You will engage in a range of activities during these sessions.

Online (type-written) scholar discussions: Each week, you will be expected to complete independent assignments or activities and to engage in reflection guided by prompts posted to the shared course Canvas site. The characteristics of your online academic discussions are:

1. Your initial response to the assignment should be posted by midnight on Thursday.In your initial post, you must exhibit depth of thought and connections to course (and other) readings and assignments. You also should demonstrate critical thinking and analysis in these postings. In the social sciences, critical thinking refers to "curiosity, skepticism, reflection, and rationality.
2. You must alsorespond to at least two other postings during each Intersession,offering questions and contributions that deepen the conversation. Your responses should reflect your deepening knowledge of the course content, combined with relevant experience, as much as possible while remaining relevant to the topic and context for that session. You should read, analyze, and respond substantively to discussion questions and others' postings, and this should be completed on time.

To receive a 100% participation grade in Intersession activities, your participation must meet the following expectations:

1. You are expected to post and respond online a minimum of three times per session; logging in once and posting your reflection and all responses will not count as a quality online presence.
2. Post original responses to each of the discussion topics each week. Your original responses should be approximately 300 words and include the criteria stated in 4 & 5 below.
3. All responses to others' discussion posts must be made during the Intersession period and not following the conclusion of the Intersession.
4. You are expected to post at least two substantive posts per session (responding to at least two other students' posts in an exchange) beyond your original post.
5. You are expected to contribute meaningfully to the small group discussions. That means:
   1. contributing new and relevant information to the discussion from the textbook/readings and from your own experience;
   2. commenting appropriately and disagreeing in a way that respects the humanity and dignity of others;
   3. building on the remarks of your fellow students;
   4. posing questions to your fellow students; and
   5. sharing quotes, websites, and other supplementary information.