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What age does the juvenile court have jurisdiction?

The Juvenile Court has, pursuant to G.L. c. 119, §52, jurisdiction over children between the ages of seven and seventeen who are accused of violations of a city ordinance or municipal or state law. The Juvenile Court also has jurisdiction over:

When did the Supreme Court rule that juveniles should not be denied the constitutional safeguards afforded to adults?

In 1966 , the Supreme Court, in Kent vs. United States, 383 U.S. 541 (1966), held that, since juveniles charged with criminal offenses potential ly suffered the same loss of liberty as their adult counterparts, they should not be denied the constitutional safeguards afforded adults. Later Supreme Court decisions restored to juveniles:

Is it scary to be prosecuted in juvenile court?

Being prosecuted in juvenile court is frightening for any juvenile. The formality of the proceedings alone can be incomprehensible to those accused of delinquency. In most cases, juveniles at least grasp that the conduct for which they stand accused was unacceptable, or even illegal – such as possession of alcohol or even assault & battery. But, unfortunately, there is an alarming trend among law enforcement to charge juveniles for conduct that, until recently, was correctly dismissed as the result of simple immaturity, better dealt with by parents than probation officers.

What is the jury of a juvenile?

The juvenile accused of a delinquent act, as stated above, has essentially the same rights as an adult accused of a crime. Unlike an adult tried in District Court (who is entitled to a jury of six), a juvenile is entitled to a jury of twelve. The rules of evidence and of criminal procedure apply to the trial, including the right to cross-examine witnesses. For more on trials, click here.

Is juvenile court a criminal court?

Although the juvenile court may have been created to foster the positive development of wayward youths in need of care, reassurance and guidance, in every important aspect, the juvenile court is, today, a criminal, rather than a rehabilitative, court. The benevolent intentions, if any, of those who created the court have been supplanted by institutional underpinnings and goals of the adult criminal court; that is, to hold accountable and to punish. Andrew Walkover, The Infancy Defense in the New Juvenile Court, 31U.C.L.A. LAW REVIEW 502 (1984). Even the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court admitted as much in Commonwealth vs. Rodriquez, 376 Mass. 632 (1978), noting that despite legislation declaring juvenile delinquency proceedings non-criminal, “the delinquency process has assumed a kind of criminal character. . . .” A juvenile accused of a crime, therefore, needs a criminal defense attorney to safeguard his rights, especially if his liberty is in jeopardy.