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NYTimes editorial makes pitch for juve courts

By Douglas A. Berman

Highlighting what is often really a sentencing issue, the New York Times recently published this editorial headlined, "The Case for Juvenile Courts."  Here are excerpts: This country made a terrible mistake when it began routinely trying youthful offenders as adults. This get-tough approach was supposed to deter crime. But a growing number of government-financed studies have shown that minors prosecuted as adults commit more crimes ? and are more likely to become career criminals ? than ones processed through juvenile courts. The value of specialized courts for young people is underscored in a new report from the Justice Department?s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.  After evaluating the available research, it concludes that transferring juveniles for trial and sentencing to an adult criminal court has increased recidivism, especially among violent offenders, and has led many young people to a permanent life of crime...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 14, 2008 (boomark / email).