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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5 page paper examines the issue of due process and whether or not it is the best system for juvenile justice. Various concepts are addressed. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: RG13_SA108sup.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
parents are the best ones to make decisions about the fate of their offspring. On the other hand, in the United States, parents are the legal guardians of their children
and have a great deal of power. Yet, historically, this was not always the case. The juvenile justice system evolved from a parens patriae model to a due process model.
Much of the change is due to several court decisions that would challenge the wisdom of the courts. Today, many juveniles in the system are there because of drug related
behaviors. Yet, is the due process model the most appropriate for dealing with these problems? First, it is important to examine the system. What is parens patriae and should it
be the general model for the times? Parens patriae is a term that refers to the protection that government offers for vulnerable people, namely children, who might be considered to
be in harmful situations (Burden-Osmond, 2002). The concept is derived from early England (Burden-Osmond, 2002). The idea is still relevant today in regard to custody protection, health problems and religious
interventions (Burden-Osmond, 2002). Many are familiar with cases where children are removed from homes that are dangerous, or the court intervenes when a parent prevents a child from receiving medical
attention. Parens patriae is supposed to be used only for the protection of the individual, and not to help the government (Burden-Osmond, 2002). Historically, in the United States, parens patriae
meant that the state would act as the parent or guardian and youth were not tried as adult offenders ("History of Americas Juvenile Justice System," 2010). The state would take
a special interest in youth because they are more vulnerable and arguably do not really know what they are doing. Juvenile justice would take on a less formal tone ("History
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