¶ … Juveniles in Court as Adults Summary of Policy

Many states in the U.S. allowed the prosecution of juveniles in adult courts, in transfer laws, in an expansion program that ran through the 80s and 90s (Griffin, Addie, Adams & Firestine, 2011). Transfer laws for juveniles outline the direction for trying underage defendants as adults in criminal cases. Earlier on, the criminal justice system sought to separate adults from underage offenders. However, the laws were reviewed to allow such youthful suspects to be transferred and be tried in adult courts. The law review was triggered by the notable serious escalation of violent crime by youthful offenders (Burgess-Proctor, Holtrop & Villarruel, 2008). Many attempts were made between 1979 and 2003 to modify the transfer laws in many states. Some of the efforts were geared towards eliminating the minimum age for trial in a criminal court. There were attempts to also expand the offenses that would be included in such criminal prosecution. These efforts were varied. They either combined the mentioned intentions or focused on either.

The fundamental legal grounds facilitate the transfer of juvenile criminal offenses to adult criminal courts. The Judicial Waiver allows the judge of the juvenile court to determine whether to order such transfer at a waiver hearing of the juvenile case. Another ground is referred to as the prosecutorial transfer. In this case, the prosecuting attorney exercises discretion to file such a case in an adult criminal court in cases that fulfill certain criteria for offenders. Lastly, there is a law called the statutory exclusion. The law deters certain offenses from being tried in juvenile courts. Therefore, anyone charged with such crimes will be prosecuted in adult criminal courts (Burgess-Proctor et al., 2008).

The spirit of the...

There remains high public support for the transfer laws; even though some states such as Indiana have gone slow on them in the recent past.
Stakeholders Who Support and Implement Policy

1990s marks the point from when most states enforced tough policy on juvenile crime. This move was a reaction to the increasing incidents of violent crime by youths and children. 2003 cups the peak when states enforced transfer laws that allowed or required child offenders to be tried in adult criminal courts. The laws were crafted by the state governments and dubbed Juvenile Waiver Laws. The laws are operational; once they are passed by the state legislature, with the implementers being the courts, and judges the actors. All the states in the U.S. have a clause that allows children as young as 14 years to be prosecuted in adult courts as adults under special circumstances. In fact, in states such as Vermont, Indiana and South Dakota, 10-year-old offenders can be tried in adult criminal courts (Champion, 2001).

The Ethical Dilemmas, Outcomes, Benefactors, Losers and Negative Consequences of the Transfer Policy

Subjecting children to trial in adult courts presents several ethical dilemmas. To begin with, the criminal courts established under the adult criminal system are intended to try adult offenders. This means that if it is decided that children should be tried in these courts, they are subjected to a clear disadvantage compared to their adult counterparts. Secondly, studies demonstrate that children lack the competency required to assist counsel in their trials. They are also limited in the scope of their understanding of their legal rights and privileges. These challenges have been…