Spook
February 15th, 2012, 04:25 PM
I'm gonna try to make this as short as possible, but I have alot of stuff I wanna cover. :D
First of all, you must know that I am talking from GA, so some of these points may only be significant in the state of Georgia. Anyways, the United States Juvenile Court System was originally passed as an Act during 1899 in Illinois. 1906 was the year the 1st court was established. It was created a a way to give the right to intervene in the criminal lives of minors in a way different than adults. So- to clarify, a juvenile in Georgia is a child under the age of 17 years old. A 'Delinquent Act' is an act that would be considered a crime if performed by an adult. So- that being said, a juvenile commiting an adult crime, or a Delinquent act would undergo something called the Juvenile Code. Now, I am leading up to Juvenile Rights. It is stated that Juveniles in the United States have the same rights as adults. However, they do not receive trial by jury, their fate is decided by a judge. They do have right to an attorney and right to confront, question, present a defense, introduce edvidense, and testify. This is all true based on court standards. However, I believe there is a violation to the statement of equal rights in the world outside the courthouse, most prominently. Let's take this back a little. African Americans fought for years for the same rights adult white men in the US had. Shortly after African Americans gained rights, women were inspired as well. Gay people and Bisexuals have also recently been fighting for marriage rights, and have won in California. Now, if the Constitution states that all men are created equal, no discrimination to any gender, color, etc.- then why don't we have rights? And why does the law tell us that we do? Let me give some examples. In Georgia and most other states, children Under 18 or even 21 must:
1. Attend School until 16 yrs of age
2. Not run away from home.
3. Not possess alchoholic beverages or tobacco until age 21 and 18 respectively.
4. Not hang around public places or wander streets after curfew (midnight in most states).
5. Not enter bars where alchoholic beverages are served, unless accompanied by parents.
6. Obey all reasonable commands of parents.
None of these laws have to be obeyed by people over 21 years of age- is that really equal rights for minors? No. We DO NOT get the same rights as adults. We DO NOT get to vote underage, or get a job under 15 years of age, or order on the telephone under 18 years of age, or join a certain website under 13 to 18 years of age. What equal rights are we recieving. Now I know some laws are concerning our safety, but there is up to a point when these things become obsessive, and unhealthy. While an adult would have their word taken for spousal abuse or attack, a child would need to have their house investigated for much longer than a regular person, deep measures taken. We get treated like we're stupid; but I think we realize alot more than those adults do.
Now, the first paragraph might not seem relevant, but I wanted to provide some background information on the system of juvenile court in the US..to have a foundation to build on. Anyways, tell me what you think about juvenile rights, and measures of law adults take against us that you think are necessary/unnecessary.
~Caitlin
First of all, you must know that I am talking from GA, so some of these points may only be significant in the state of Georgia. Anyways, the United States Juvenile Court System was originally passed as an Act during 1899 in Illinois. 1906 was the year the 1st court was established. It was created a a way to give the right to intervene in the criminal lives of minors in a way different than adults. So- to clarify, a juvenile in Georgia is a child under the age of 17 years old. A 'Delinquent Act' is an act that would be considered a crime if performed by an adult. So- that being said, a juvenile commiting an adult crime, or a Delinquent act would undergo something called the Juvenile Code. Now, I am leading up to Juvenile Rights. It is stated that Juveniles in the United States have the same rights as adults. However, they do not receive trial by jury, their fate is decided by a judge. They do have right to an attorney and right to confront, question, present a defense, introduce edvidense, and testify. This is all true based on court standards. However, I believe there is a violation to the statement of equal rights in the world outside the courthouse, most prominently. Let's take this back a little. African Americans fought for years for the same rights adult white men in the US had. Shortly after African Americans gained rights, women were inspired as well. Gay people and Bisexuals have also recently been fighting for marriage rights, and have won in California. Now, if the Constitution states that all men are created equal, no discrimination to any gender, color, etc.- then why don't we have rights? And why does the law tell us that we do? Let me give some examples. In Georgia and most other states, children Under 18 or even 21 must:
1. Attend School until 16 yrs of age
2. Not run away from home.
3. Not possess alchoholic beverages or tobacco until age 21 and 18 respectively.
4. Not hang around public places or wander streets after curfew (midnight in most states).
5. Not enter bars where alchoholic beverages are served, unless accompanied by parents.
6. Obey all reasonable commands of parents.
None of these laws have to be obeyed by people over 21 years of age- is that really equal rights for minors? No. We DO NOT get the same rights as adults. We DO NOT get to vote underage, or get a job under 15 years of age, or order on the telephone under 18 years of age, or join a certain website under 13 to 18 years of age. What equal rights are we recieving. Now I know some laws are concerning our safety, but there is up to a point when these things become obsessive, and unhealthy. While an adult would have their word taken for spousal abuse or attack, a child would need to have their house investigated for much longer than a regular person, deep measures taken. We get treated like we're stupid; but I think we realize alot more than those adults do.
Now, the first paragraph might not seem relevant, but I wanted to provide some background information on the system of juvenile court in the US..to have a foundation to build on. Anyways, tell me what you think about juvenile rights, and measures of law adults take against us that you think are necessary/unnecessary.
~Caitlin