Juvenile Courts

Juvenile courts are courts of limited jurisdiction created by states to work with children and their families in cases of the delinquent behavior of juveniles. The early argument in favor of the creation of juvenile courts was that the failure of the family was the reason for the bad behavior. Thus, public officials set up a new type of court to deal not only with the behavior, but also with the necessary rehabilitation and education of juveniles so that proper values and respect for authority could be taught. Essentially, the juvenile court system allows state governments to impose treatment on children rather than harsher criminal punishments. The right of states to intervene into the lives of juveniles (and their families) for purposes of care and ...