Juvenile court proceedings and legal processes

Criminal Justice

Juvenile Court Proceedings

Do you think juvenile court proceedings should be open to the public? Why or why not?

Historically when dealing with court proceedings of juvenile offenders both open and closed court cases have been used (Ashley, 2007). Juvenile courts have traditionally been closed to the public (1990's: Juvenile the Courts Proceedings and Records Continue to Be More Accessible to the Public, 1999). One of the pros of having closed courts is that the names of the offenders can be kept secret. Closed hearings also help to protect children from public examination. It is also believed that with closed court cases there is a greater opportunity for the offender to be rehabilitated (Ashley, 2007).

In contrast open court hearing as seen as causing psychological harm to children. An open system also has the possibility of delaying final placement of a child due to an increase in unsettled cases. As a matter of policy it has always been believed that young offenders should not be stigmatized forever because of making one mistake (1990's: Juvenile The Courts Proceedings and Records Continue to Be More Accessible to the Public, 1999).

One drawback to having closed court proceedings is that when it comes to the interest of the public to gain further knowledge about the juvenile justice system, this type of arrangement makes it hard. Closed court hearings are also thought to be in violation of the First amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the public the right to view dependency proceedings. One of the claims that proponents of open court hearings make is that if the public is allowed into juvenile court proceedings it forces the primary focus to be on holding the child welfare system accountable. In a closed court preceding though this would not matter because if the public isn't involved then accountability cannot be upheld. In addition to holding the courts accountable, if the public were allowed to attend there would be an impact on the improvement of how courts and agencies make decisions surrounding the futures of children in neglect and abuse cases. Having open court procedures would also lead to more liability and more community engagement that would in turn lead to better outcomes for children and families who may get caught up in the criminal justice system (Ashley, 2007).

There has been a recent increase in the number of violent crimes that are being committed by juveniles. This has caused a shift in thinking from rehabilitation to that of retribution and deterrence. Many states have begun to open juvenile proceedings to the public when a minor is charged with a violent crime that may provoke community outrage because of the nature of the crime (1990's: Juvenile The Courts Proceedings and Records Continue to Be More Accessible to the Public, 1999).