Juvenile and Adult courts

Juvenile and Adult courts Due to Juvenile delinquency which is the violation laws or ordinances by a person who is legally classified as a juvenile , or youth , rather than an adult . In most jurisdictions , delinquent acts are defined as those that would be considered crimes if committed by an adult . It is customarily within the age of 7 years to 16- 17 . Juveniles account for a disproportionate percentage of crime all over the world now . Much of this crime is relatively minor , such as shoplifting , vandalism . However car theft , drug offenses , assault

and murder are among the serious crimes commonly committed by delinquents . The problem of juvenile crime is made worse by the existence of youth gangs , which are often well organized criminal enterprises involved in such activities as extortion drug- dealing , and theft . Status offenses are crimes that only to young people with the status of minors . These offenses include truancy running away from home , and refusing to obey parents . The reason given for designating such as delinquent is to protect young people from their own immature judgment

Juvenile Court is a court that hears cases of juvenile delinquency . Many juvenile courts also have jurisdiction over cases of child dependency and neglect . Juvenile courts are based on the theory that children and young adolescents should be protected by society , and that youthful lawbreakers are in need of care and guidance if confinement is necessary , the offenders should not be placed in institutions with adult criminals . In accordance with this theory , juvenile courts follow civil rather than criminal procedures . A juvenile court may be part of a court of general jurisdiction , or it maybe organized independently . If part of a general

Court , it may be assigned its own judges , or judges of the general court may be rotated to it on a temporary basis . The independent juvenile courts have their own full- time judges

In an adult court , a judge presides the trial court . After the police arrest a person suspected of a crime , the prosecutor must , in most cases , present the accusation to the grand jury . If it believes that the suspect may be guilty , it returns an indictment which is a statement of charges . In some , the prosecutor simply s an indictment with the appropriate court . The indicted suspect , or defendant , is the arraigned or brought into court to plead his guilt or innocence . If he pleads guilty , he is sentenced without trial

When the prosecutor is preparing his case , a practice known as plea- bargaining may be used . The defendant agrees to plead guilty to a less serious offense than that of which he was originally accused , and the prosecutor permits him to do so to avoid the expense and effort of trying him

If the defendant pleads not guilty and is brought to trial , the prosecutor offers evidence to support the charges of guilt . The defendant 's attorney calls witnesses to refute the charges or cast doubt on them . Each attorney may cross examine witnesses on...