Juvenile Offenses
The Juvenile Justice System Tries To Rehabilitate Youth Rather Than To Punish Them
Both the juvenile and adult justice system in California have the shared goal of public safety. However, this is one of the few goals both systems have in common. The adult justice system has the goal of punishment of offenders, where as the juvenile justice system has the goal of treatment and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. The goal of treatment and rehabilitation, in lieu of punishment in juvenile proceedings is…
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JUVENILE’S REFUSAL TO CONSENT TO A SEARCH DOES NOT GIVE COPS REASONABLE SUSPICION TO SEARCH
A police officer stopped a juvenile, M, for riding a bicycle without proper lighting. The officer asked M to step away form the bike and take off his backpack. M said he would not consent to a search of the backpack. The officer believe this was a "red flag" and, concerned that M might be armed, he pat-searched M and found a loaded revolver in M's jacket. M challenged the…
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APPELLATE COURT AFFIRMS MANDATORY SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION FOR INDECENT EXPOSURE, NONMANDATORY REGISTRATION FOR LEWD CONDUCT DOES NOT VIOLATE EQUAL PROTECTION – CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE SECTION 290, PENAL CODE SECTION 314(1), PENAL CODE SECTION 647(A)
On June 29, 2010, the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, decided People v. Honan, which ruled that mandatory sex offender registration for those convicted of indecent exposure but discretionary registration for those convicted of lewd conduct did not violate equal protection. On February 17, 2008, defendant Donald Honan and Jose Martinez-Gutierrez were at a sauna in a gym. Martinez-Gutierrez testified that while looking at Honan, Honan smiled and stroked…
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United States Supreme Court Rules that the Eighth Amendment is Violated When Juveniles are Sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole for Non-Homicide Crimes
In Graham v. Florida, No. 08-7412, the United States Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment bars sentences of life without parole for juveniles not convicted of a homicide offense. The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. In Graham, Graham was 17 years old when he participated with two 20 year olds in an armed and violent home invasion robbery. When he was 16, he had been convicted of…
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Nine Charged after Bullying of Teenage Student Phoebe Prince Ends in Suicide
It was recently reported that nine youths have been charged in relation to the suicide of a 15-year-old girl in Massachusetts. Phoebe Prince, who had recently moved to South Hadley, Massachusetts from Ireland, hung herself after being raped and bullied by classmates since the start of the school year in September 2009. Prince committed suicide on January 14th. Initially thought to be a case of cyber bullying, it is believed…
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Minors and Vandalism Charges
It was recently reported that a minor was taken into custody and charged with 232 counts of vandalism in Vista, California. The police also suspect him in 85 additional vandalism incidences. His alleged graffiti tags have caused over $101,000 in damage according to police. His name has not been released because he is a minor. In this case, the minor will be facing charges in juvenile court. Juvenile courts are…
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U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments for Life without Parole for Minors
Recently, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases involving life sentences without the option for parole for minors. The two cases, Graham v. Florida and Sullivan v. Florida both involved two minors who were convicted of serious felonies when they were 16 and 13 years old, respectively. The boys were subsequently sentenced to life in prison and their cases are now before the United States Supreme…
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United States Supreme Court to Decide Whether Locking Up Children for Life is Constitutional
The United States Supreme Court is set to hear a wide variety of cases as it begins its new term. Among these cases, the Supreme Court will decide whether a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole imposed on juvenile offenders constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides protection against cruel and unusual punishment. In a previous 2005 decision, the Supreme…
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California Law Seeks to Prevent Minors Drunk in Public
It has been well established that minors will consume alcohol before they are legally permitted to at 21. Lawmakers in California hope a new law will help deter minors from not only drinking, but from being drunk in public. As of 2009, the California Courts will impose a suspension or delay of driving privileges on minors who are convicted of being drunk in public. California law states that any person,…
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A California Court Has Ruled that Prohibiting a Juvenile from Possessing a Firearm Does Not Violate the Second Amendment
On appeal, a Defendant in California sought to overturn his conviction for gross negligence in discharging a firearm, possession of a firearm by a juvenile. The defendant in this case was previously made a ward of the juvenile court. As such, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm until the age of 30. The United States Supreme Court's recently held that a city's ban on handguns violates the Constitution's right…
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