Guardian Of The Public And/Or The Child: Policy Questions And Conflicts For The Juvenile Court Prosecutor

    Authors

    J. B. Sanborn

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Justice Syst. J.

    Keywords

    Law

    Abstract

    For several decades, prosecutors rarely worked in juvenile courts. The In re Gault decision in 1967, however, granted juvenile criminal defendants several constitutional rights that have transformed juvenile courts into criminal-court-like operations. Although prosecutors now regularly appear in juvenile court, generally, they have not been told whether(or how) they should promote the court's special rehabilitation mission or emulate their counterparts in adult criminal court; research has mostly ignored this subject. In this study, 100 juvenile court workers (judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation officers) from three juvenile courts (urban, suburban, rural) were interviewed to determine how prosecutors were operating in juvenile court and what these workers perceived to be the proper role for prosecutors. The data show that most workers in the urban center believed that prosecutors were ignoring the dictates of juvenile justice philosophy and were undermining the court's operations; many workers wondered if juvenile court would survive the presence of prosecutors. The results differed dramatically in the suburban and rural courts, where prosecutors were mostly perceived as compatible with juvenile court objectives. The dynamics of the juvenile court, especially the nature of its crime problem, seem to determine whether prosecutors will elect to be the guardian of the public or the child.

    Journal Title

    Justice System Journal

    Volume

    18

    Issue/Number

    2

    Publication Date

    1-1-1995

    Document Type

    Article; Proceedings Paper

    Language

    English

    First Page

    141

    Last Page

    156

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:A1995UZ47500004

    ISSN

    0098-261X

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