Juvenile Justice

American Bar Association > ABA Groups > Center on Children and the Law > policy

Please set value(s) for component.

Capital Punishment for Juvenile Offenders

AUGUST 1983

BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association opposes, in principle, the imposition of capital punishment upon any person for any offense committed while under the age of eighteen (18).

Reducing Collateral Consequences of Juvenile Delinquency Adjudications

February 2010

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges federal, state, territorial and local governments to increase the opportunities of youth involved with the juvenile or criminal justice systems and to prevent the continuing discrimination against those who have been involved with these systems in the past by limiting the collateral consequences of juvenile arrests, adjudications, and convictions.

Click here for the full text

Dual Jurisdiction/Crossover Youth

August 2008

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges the federal, state, territorial, and tribal governments to revise laws, court rules, policies, and practices related to “dual jurisdiction” youth (abused and neglected youth with juvenile “dependency” cases who are charged with acts of delinquency) to:

Click here for the full text

Juvenile Court Defense & Prosecution Enhancement

AUGUST 1984

BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association urges the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the United States Department of Justice to support the implementation of adequate defense and prosecution services in the nation's juvenile courts.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the assessment and support of adequate defense and prosecution services receive priority attention by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Juvenile Justice Act Reauthorization

FEBRUARY 1992

BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association supports the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act only so long as Congress conducts comprehensive public hearings to determine the effectiveness of the Act and to examine its future goals and objectives.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that in the event Congress decides to reauthorize the Act, any such reauthorization should include: adherence to unbiased, responsible agenda for research, development and demonstration programs; diversification of training; guarantees of juveniles' right to counsel; improvement of conditions of confinement; and a commitment to alternatives to confinement; a prohibition on secure confinement status offenders; elimination of waivers for States which do not comply with the Act's objectives; and strict Congressional oversight of the Act and its implementation.

Racial & Ethnic Justice for Youth in the Juvenile System

AUGUST 2003

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association encourages state, local and territorial bar associations, judges, prosecutors, defenders and police to instill public confidence in the fairness of the justice system by making concerted efforts to assure that the justice system provides fair and equal treatment for all youth. (More...)

Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Act Reauthorization

AUGUST 1995

BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association supports the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, urges Congress to conduct hearings on the Act, and supports adequate funding to facilitate ongoing implementation of the Act.

Advertisement

Juvenile Justice Standards

FEBRUARY 1980 and FEBRUARY 1979

BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association adopt Standards for Juvenile Justice as set out in Tentative Drafts, dated 1977 (as amended in the appendix to the report) as follows: Court Organization and Administration; Juvenile Probation Function, and Juvenile Delinquency and Sanctions. [Note: the ABA deferred action on the Non-Criminal Misbehavior volume of the Standards and took no action on the Abuse and Neglect volume. Neither of these two volumes was ever approved as ABA policy.] [At its February 1979 Meeting, the ABA had approved 17 other volumes of the Standards for Juvenile Justice series: Adjudication; Appeals and Collateral Review; Architecture of Facilities; Corrections Administration; Counsel for Private Parties; Disposition Procedures; Dispositions; Interim Status; Juvenile Records and Information Systems; Monitoring; Planning for Juvenile Justice; Police Handling of Juvenile Problems; Pretrial Court Proceedings; Prosecution; Rights of Minors; Transfer Between Courts; and Youth Service Agencies.]

Simplified Miranda Warnings For Juveniles

FEBRUARY 2010

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges federal, state, territorial and local legislative bodies and governmental agencies to support the development of simplified Miranda warning language for use with juvenile arrestees.

Diversion of Juvenile Status Offenders

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges state, local, territorial, and tribal jurisdictions to pass laws and support policies and programs that divert alleged juvenile status offenders from court jurisdiction that:

Click here for the full text

Juvenile Sex Offender Policy

February 2009

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges Congress and the state legislatures to re-examine and revise laws, policies, and practices that require youth to register as sex offenders or be subject to community notification provisions otherwise imposed upon adult sex offenders, based upon a juvenile court adjudication

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges Congress to amend Public Law 109-248 regarding sexual crimes committed by juveniles, to require that juvenile court judges consider factors relevant to the specific offense and the individual juvenile offender in determining whether they should be placed on sex offender registries, subjected to sex offender registration requirements and community notification of their offense(s), or otherwise face additional restrictions generally placed on adult sexual offenders. ( More...)

Click here for the full text

Mental Health Problems of Juvenile Offenders

FEBRUARY 2004

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges Congress to enact legislation that would address the complex problem presented by the large number of…juveniles with mental health or emotional illness or disorders who come into contact with the criminal juvenile justice systems; such legislation should provide for: (More...)

Teen Courts for First-Time Juvenile Offenders

AUGUST 1995

BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association encourages state and territorial legislatures, court systems, and bar associations to support and assist in the formation and expansion of diversionary programs, known as Youth Courts, where juvenile participants, under supervision of volunteer attorneys and advisory staff, act as judges, jurors, clerks, bailiffs, and counsel for first time juvenile offenders who are charged with misdemeanors and consent to the program.