Juvenile vs. Adult Justice: Similarities and Differences

Unit VII Analysis Essay:

Juvenile Justice vs. Adult Justice – Similarities and Differences

David Ridge

CJ-150 – Juvenile Delinquency

Professor: Dawn Brown

July 1, 2013

Throughout the United States, most – if not all - states each have a separate yet fully

self-contained juvenile justice system; by the same terms, all states have an adult justice system, each

one slightly different, but overall very similar. While all of the systems share distinct similarities with

each other, there are also a great deal of differences.

The first major difference is that of terminology, or what something is called. For

example, in the juvenile system, the offender would be termed a 'respondent', as the one who would

have to respond against the charges brought against them; the adult systems call this offender the

'defendant', as one who must defend themselves in court. (K. Komisaruk, 2007) Other differences in

terminology exist, primarily to help the delinquent juvenile attempt to reform themselves, lest they find

themselves subjected to the adult system, which is vastly more harsh.

Further examples of terminology differences would be:

What the adult system calls a 'trial', the juvenile system calls a 'fact-finding hearing'

An 'indictment' is termed instead a 'petition'

A 'verdict of guilty' for adults becomes 'being adjudicated true to the offense' for juveniles

As attorney Ken LaMance states in a LegalMatch article on juvenile crime, “In the

adult system, the goal is to punish. In the juvenile system, on the other hand, the goal is to rehabilitate

and serve the minor's best interest.” (legalmatch.com, Juvenile vs. Adult Criminal System, para. 4) This

also serves to explain the difference in terminology, as if juveniles were subjected to the same as adults,

the terms would serve to 'jump out and grab' attention....