Juvenile Justice

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Lesson No. 1
What is Juvenile Justice?
Georgia Performance Standard SS8CG6 – the student will explain how the Georgia court system
treats juvenile offenders
a. Explain the difference between delinquent behavior and unruly behavior and the consequences of
each
b. Describe the rights of juveniles when taken into custody
c. Describe the juvenile justice system, emphasizing the different jurisdictions, terminology, and
steps in the juvenile justice process
d. Explain the seven delinquent behaviors that can subject juvenile offenders to the adult criminal
process, how the decision to transfer to adult court is made, and the possible consequences
Reading: Ignorance is No Defense, pages 5 – 10; 185-186
Objectives
The student will become familiar with basic vocabulary terms associated with the legal system;
The student will explain the difficulty of pinpointing an age for “adulthood” and why it is
important for juveniles to know their rights and responsibilities; and
The student will explain the difference between delinquent behavior and crimes.
Vocabulary
Seven Deadly Sins – crimes for which a person 13 years old or older can be prosecuted as an
adult
defendant – a person accused of committing a crime
delinquent acts – crimes committed by persons under 17 years old which are prosecuted in
juvenile court, with the exception of the 7 deadly sins for which 13 -17 year olds are prosecuted
as adults
felony – crime for which the penalty is more than 12 months in prison, life imprisonment, or
death
misdemeanor – a crime for which the punishment is 12 months in prison or less
Ignorance Is No Defense 2
offender – a person who commits a crime
ordinance – a law passed by a city of county government
parens patriae – the doctrine that gives the government the authority to make decisions for a
child, even over the objection of parents or guardians, if it is in the child’s best interest
perpetrator – a person who commits a crime
rehabilitate – the government provides juveniles with individualized treatments to change their
negative influences in an effort to prevent them from turning into adult criminals
state legislature – in Georgia, the Legislature determines whether a crime is a felony or
misdemeanor as well as the punishment for the crime, including a possible mandatory sentence or
fine
statutes – written laws
unruly child – a person under 17 years old who is absent from school regularly, runs away from
home, disobeys a reasonable command from a parent, loiters between the hours of midnight and 5
a.m., or goes to a bar without a parent or who possess alcohol
victim – a person against whom a crime is committed
The teacher may chose to give the vocabulary words as a pre-test to determine how much each student
knows about the juvenile justice system.
The words can be used with a variety of strategies to engage and provide some prior knowledge for
students. Some of these strategies include a “word splash,” a word map, context clues, identifying
prefixes and suffixes and decoding meaning. For more ideas, please contact Ignorance Is No Defense staff.
Activating Strategy
Have students distinguish which of the following acts are delinquent acts from which are acts
characteristic of an unruly child. The teacher may choose to have students answer individually, open it
up to volunteers, or select a panel of “experts” to determine the answers.
A 16 year old is –
Convicted of shoplifting;
Running away from a parent or guardian;
Meeting friends at the local bar to drink and shoot pool;
Covering a teacher’s house with toilet paper; and
Refusing to come home at the appointed curfew time.
Following the students’ discussion, ask about the consequences of each. Which punish is more severe?
Which punishment is prescribed? Which is monitored by the court system?
Note: this discussion is an informal assessment of how much students know.
Ignorance Is No Defense 3
Learning Activities
1. Defining adult behaviors
On 3 x 5 cards write the following adult behaviors:
voting
driving
serving in the military
drinking
buying cigarettes
marrying
signing contracts
pumping gas
buy a weapon
Place the cards in a bowl. Have volunteers draw one and tell at what age it is legal for someone to
participate. The teacher can do this in one of several ways:
As a general discussion only;
By having students write their individual answers; or
By having students create a spreadsheet during the discussion.
After the activity, ask students questions such as:
Why are there so many different ages when things become legal for juveniles?
Is important to know what the legal ages are for driving, drinking, joining the military, etc.? What
could happen if you did not know the correct age?
What kind of consequences should there be for participating in the activity before you are of legal
age to do so?
What factors should determine the consequences of a crime?
Can a juvenile offender be rehabilitated? Why or why not?
2. Vocabulary matching
Divide the class into small groups. Give each group two sets of papers. In one set, each vocabulary word
has been written on a slip of colored paper. The other set has each definition written on a slip of paper of
a different color. Each group will then use group problem solving skills to match each vocabulary word
with the correct definition. After the group has matched them all, they can think of and write an example
of each.
Assessment
At the end of the lesson students may be assessed in one or more of the following ways.
Ignorance Is No Defense 4
Assessment No. 1: Position Paper
Give students the two quotations, one by Mos Def and one by Orrin Hatch. Have the students select one
and write a position paper supporting it. (Teacher to determine how long, etc.)
You do not arrive at justice by punishing a child as a man. In the same way you do not arrive at justice by
punishing a man as a child. This type of policy in law does nothing to deter youth from crime, rather it
criminalizes youth.
-- Mos Def, rapper and actor, Rolling Stone Magazine, January 17, 2000
When a juvenile commits an act as heinous as the worst adult crime, he or she is not a kid anymore.
-- Orrin Hatch, U.S. Senator (R), Utah
Assessment No. 2: Short Answer Quiz
This quiz would be comprised of questions summarizing the main idea of the objectives.
Assessment No. 3: Surveys
Have students create a short survey of questions from the readings and activities and make a hypothesis
of how juveniles and /or adults will answer them. Give the surveys, tally the results and analyze them in
light of the hypothesis. The teacher will need to have a short lesson on the APA style of research outline,
and talk about variables other than age if they choose to.
Assessment No. 4: Political Cartoon
Have students create a political cartoon on the topic of juvenile justice and write an explanation of it.
Assessment No. 5: Student-authored News Articles
If the teacher can arrange for students to have a small article in the school newsletter, the community
paper or another appropriate media outlet, students can have ongoing column for an authentic audience
that will benefit from the information.