Juvenile Court Systems And Reform

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Juvenile Court Systems, and Reform
There are many alterations in the juvenile court system that can effect juveniles all over the state of Texas. There are numerous cases that involve juveniles that are tried as adults. The requirements for being tried as an adult may vary with the courts judgment of the person in question. Juvenile courts in Texas are set up, or designed, by each counties juvenile board. To determine if a juvenile is a delinquent the court may look at many aspects of the juvenile’s life and habits. The juvenile courts not only effect the child or teenager but his parents or guardians as well. To understand the system it is necessary to research all aspects of the process.
These juvenile courts and boards have power over children between the ages of ten and sixteen. They may have jurisdiction over adolescents of the age seventeen if the offense occurred prior to them turning seventeen. The judges of these juvenile courts may choose to dismiss the case, or he or she may decide on a more long-term confinement. For some serious cases, a Determinate Sentencing Law allows a juvenile to be sentenced to up to forty years. They will start this sentence in a Texas Youth Commission faculty followed by an optional transfer to a prison. The less serious cases can result in an indefinite stay in a youth facility, but not to exceed their twenty-first birthday (“Sentenced Offender,” 2002, December 10). These findings are not the most common findings. More often than not, the judge will order some sort of probation in the community, or he or she may order a placement in a private state or local residential treatment facility (Whitten, 2003, June 20).
There is a large difference in the juvenile court system and the adult criminal court system. The Texas Family Code rather than the Texas Penal Code of adults regulates cases of minors. There are some differences that seem more of a technicality than actual differ...