Parens patriae means that the state has the responsibility or duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Juveniles fall into this category of needing protecting. The courts decisions and legislations have played a major role in making the juvenile justice system what it is. There are certain rights that are granted to juveniles in courts and we have an improved perspective of how to handle juveniles in the justice system now. Several Supreme Court legislations and decisions have shaped the juvenile justice system into what it is today. The Supreme Court case Kent v. United States ensured due process to juveniles. Another Supreme Court case In re Gault ensured the juvenile has four basic rights in courts. These rights were the right to notice of charges, the right to counsel, the right to confrontation and cross-examination, and the right against self-incrimination. Congress passed the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, which made juveniles in the system take a mandatory assessment that showed which youth were victimized or troubled. Its decisions also led to trends of how juveniles are handled, which is …show more content…
The first of which is diversion, which means the justice system will stop being suspicious of the juvenile in return for good behavior. The second trend is decriminalization, which means making the act not criminal anymore. The third trend is deinstitutionalization, which means not having the offender institutionalized and returning to community. The fourth trend is decarceration, which means releasing offenders primarily by shutting down facilities. The juvenile system has been shaped by what has and what has not worked in the past. The idea is to not keep juveniles in a facility that will quite possibly lead them to reoffending in the future, and that is why they are aiming more towards community programs for juveniles to keep recidivism rates