Juvenile Justice System

The system of justice for juvenile offenders in the United States differs from the system for adult offenders. The juvenile justice system was created to deal with delinquency outside of the adult justice system. Juvenile courts and the juvenile justice system were products of the progressive movement of the early twentieth century. Progressives were reformers who were concerned with growing urbanization and the children of poor immigrants. These reformers wanted to save children from a life of crime and founded a justice system that was meant to be more flexible than the normal justice system. The courts in the juvenile justice system treated juveniles differently from adults. This distinction was based on the philosophy of parens patriae , or the state as parent. The Supreme Court at first held that the extended benefits juveniles received from the juvenile justice system compensated them for the loss of some due process rights.