[email protected] • (404) 373-6453 • www.ignoranceisnodefense.com 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.