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Juvenile Court System to Adult Court System

Public safety is always the main and the most important goal of juvenile and adult
justice systems. Each state has its own peculiarities in the court process. In the state of
California juvenile justice system has a lot of different peculiarities and details. That is why
each parent should be aware of the adjudication process.
To start with, any court process usually starts with arrest of the suspect. Following the
arrest of a juvenile offender, a law enforcement officer has the discretion to release the
juvenile to his or her parents, or take the offender to juvenile hall (LAO, 2007). If the juvenile
is found suspect, the justice process begins. Then adjudication helps to define whether
juvenile is delinquent. By adjudication process a juvenile is transferred to the adult court
system. In the state of California the district attorney may request that the juvenile be
"remanded" to adult court because the juvenile is "unfit" to be adjudicated as a juvenile due to
the nature of his or her offense (LAO, 2007).
There are different goals of adult and juvenile justice systems. For instance,
California's adult system also has punishment of offenders as a goal, while California's
juvenile justice system has a different goal--treatment and rehabilitation (LAO, 2007).
Adjunction helps to define whether child should be judged according to the adult system.
Adjudication usually includes presentation of evidences and cross-examination of witnesses
(Purpura, 1996). Very often if the evidence is insufficient, the petition may be dismissed.
Nevertheless, for a juvenile tried and convicted in adult court, the offender can be sentenced
to the Department of Corrections, but can be placed in the Youth Authority through age 24
(LAO, 2007).
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All in all, adjudication is an important trial stage of the juvenile justice process.
California has its own peculiarities of this process. For example, juvenile can be transferred to
the adult court system and then be punished for the crime. That is why in order to protect your
rights it is necessary to be aware of adjudication.
References
Legislative Analyst Office, (2007). Juvenile Crime--Outlook for California Part V,
Retrieved from
http://www.lao.ca.gov/1995/050195_juv_crime/kkpart5.aspx
Purpura, (1996). Criminal Justice: An Introduction. New York: Butterworth-
Heinemann