Are juveniles as under control today as they were in the past? Crime plays a major role in today's society. The government follows the policy and has always followed the policy that no crime goes unpunished. The controversy that surrounds the United States courtrooms today is whether or not a minor needs to stand trial as an adult for committing a serious offense. These decisions made by the judge or jury in the preliminary hearing affect the rest of the suspect's life. The opposing argument to the issue of juveniles being tried as adults remains that the minor is too young and immature to understand the consequences of what he or she did wrong. Juveniles need to be punished according to the severity of the crime in which they committed. Ultimately, juveniles should stand trial as adults.

The opposition believes that holding court cases where juveniles remain tried as adults undoubtedly violates the rights of the juvenile. Initially, the age of a person when the alleged crime occurred decides whether or not he or she will be tried as a juvenile. "Definitions of who is a juvenile vary for different purposes within individual states as well as among different states" (Rose

m needs to prosecute more juveniles as adults for more criminal offenses involving such felonies as breaking and entering or auto theft (Snyder 2). Lastly, statistics illustrate that minors need a wake-up call to begin curbing the crimes committed by minors. "Youngsters need a serious disciplinary jolt before they can understand the bigger picture" responds James Austin, a member of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. A report rendered by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency shows that a recent poll indicates that two-thirds of the people believed that if more minors were tried as adults, then the message would get across to juveniles not to commit crimes (Austin 25).

Gehrke, Dohna and Branch, Karen. "Youth Crime Called Threat to Society." Miami Herald. May 16, 1991, B6.

enile crime has done nothing but increase in the past, and because of the increase in crime by minors courts have been forced to place less emphasis on lower criminal cases (McPolin 26). Increasing crime amongst minors will be the primary cause for the "downfall of the American judicial system" (Stapleton 119).

Juvenile crime has mushroomed into an enormous dilemma for the legal system. The juvenile court system needs to devote more time to backing up what the judicial system stands for. "The courts allow the majority of juveniles off of the hook for committing crimes instead of arraigning them as adults like they should" (Stapleton 117). Due to the overflow of cases in lower circuit courts, the courts cannot handle the cases with the diligence necessary (Snyder 3). Moreover, a boom in juvenile crime poses a threat to the way that the judicial system conducts itself. Crimes that need to transfer to adult criminal courts are instead dealt with in the misdemeanor court (Snyder 3). Howard Snyder, Director of the National Juvenile Court Data Archive, in his report, demands that the courts must not continue letting minors leave the courtroom with minimal sentences for dangerous crimes. Most importantly, juvenile crime forces the courts to neglect time from the adult criminal courts. Juv!

n the rare occurrence of a juvenile being tried as an adult takes place, grand juries "often focus on one or more topics of community interest", hence it is not uncommon for minors to escape conviction. (Gehrke/Branch).

Trying juveniles as adults places an interesting impact on society. First off, society voices itsel

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Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)