WordNet
n. a court having jurisdiction over dependent and delinquent children
Wikipedia
A juvenile court (or young offender's court) is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgments for crimes that are committed by children or adolescents who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal systems, children and adolescents who commit a crime are treated differently from legal adults that have committed the same crime.
Industrialized countries differ in whether juveniles should be tried as adults for serious crimes or considered separately. Since the 1970s, minors have been tried increasingly as adults in response to "increases in violent juvenile crime." Young offenders may still not be prosecuted as adults. Serious offenses, such as murder or rape, can be prosecuted through adult court in England. However, as of 2007, no United States data reported any exact numbers of juvenile offenders prosecuted as adults. In contrast, countries such as Australia and Japan are in the early stages of developing and implementing youth focused justice initiatives as a deferment from adult court.
Globally, the United Nations' has encouraged nations to reform their systems to fit with a model in which "entire society [must] ensure the harmonious development of adolescence" despite the delinquent behavior that may be causing issues. The hope was to create a more "child friendly justice." Despite all the changes made by the United Nations, the rules in practice are less clear cut. Changes in a broad context cause issues of implementation locally, and international crimes committed by youth are causing additional questions regarding the benefit of separate proceedings for juveniles.
Issues of juvenile justice have become increasingly global across several cultural contexts. As globalization has occurred in recent centuries, issues of justice, and more specifically protecting the rights of children as it relates to juvenile courts, have been called to question. Global policies regarding this issue have become more widely accepted, and a general culture of treatment of children offenders has adapted to this trend.
Juvenile Court is a 1938 American crime film directed by D. Ross Lederman.
Usage examples of "juvenile court".
Barry Young is a former juvenile court bailiff who is now a counselor with Ayers' Alternative Program, which works with first-time criminal offenders.
I'd been sentenced to the maximumMalik's uncle was a cop and he fixed it so the juvenile court judge sentenced me to the max.
Bosch called the PO at Sylmar Juvenile Hall but learned that Sharkey had already been arraigned before a juvenile court referee and was released to the custody of his mother.
I've known him since he was old enough to appear before a juvenile court, you know, and he's been a regular customer ever since.
It was the juvenile court file he'd requested on Gillette when the hacker had escaped last night.
Had he been two years older, the Juvenile Court system would probably have declined to try his case and he would have been tried as an adult.
On November 15, 1974, however, John English appeared before Juvenile Court Commissioner Norman Quinn and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
I'd been sentenced to the maximum-Malik's uncle was a cop and he fixed it so the juvenile court judge sentenced me to the max.