A Flow Chart of the Juvenile Justice Process in the State of Washington (Clallam County)
(Clallam County, Washington, 2013)
The primary objective of the Juvenile Justice System is to ensure that the juvenile is rehabilitated. The chart shows the process that has to be followed in order to ensure that a juvenile suspected of committing a crime is prosecuted. In case the juvenile will be tried as an adult, they will be transferred to an adult court. This means that the case will go on differently as opposed to the one that would have taken place in an adult criminal process. The first part of the process is the committing of the offense. A person who has witnessed a crime should report to a law enforcement agency or the concerned party in the crime area. Secondly, an initial investigation of the crime will be carried out by an officer once the crime has been reported. The witnesses and the victims will be interviewed and an initial report will be prepared. The initial report will be given to detectives once it has been prepared
A follow-up investigation is conducted by an investigator and they contact witnesses to obtain formal statements. For example, if it is robbery, a description of the stolen items should be provided by the victims or witnesses. A photographic line up takes place and the suspected juvenile offender can at times be in the line-up. In case the youth has been identified and evidence exists, a Juvenile prosecutor has to be provided with a Delinquency Referral/Complaint. Depending on whether the juvenile has ever committed a crime, the case is diverted. If there is evidence to prove that the juvenile committed an offense, a Criminal Information is filed.
The juvenile is arrested then proceeds to custody and is put in detention at the Juvenile & Family Services complex. A court then makes a decision as to whether the juvenile should wait arraignment or be held in custody. During the first hearing a juvenile respondent is made aware of the charges and they can have an attorney. The juvenile has to enter a plea based on the charges against them and if they enter into a guilty plea, a disposition hearing date is then set. Before the arraignment hearing occurs, the defense and the prosecutor have to disclose information to all parties and the juvenile’s defense attorney has to be provided with a police report copy.
The Washington Law claims that if a juvenile is either seventeen or sixteen years old, they are to be filed in an adult court. This is depending on whether the crime is a robbery or a violent offense, among others. In case, there is reason to believe that the juvenile cannot be adjudicated, psychiatric evaluation on the juvenile should be conducted. There are times when the juvenile can enter into a plea agreement and a judge has to make decision on this matter. Thereafter, an adjudication hearing occurs and a judge can set a disposition hearing date if the delinquent pleads guilty. The delinquent can then be found not guilty or guilty and be put on parole, commitment to Juvenile Authority or probation. Lastly, the juvenile can either accept the sentence or file for an appeal to review the case.
I would change the process of the Washington juvenile Justice process if given an opportunity. Firstly, I would ensure that the process time is shortened and secondly, I would ensure that repeat offenders are given harsh punishments. There would be no need of giving repeat offenders an opportunity to plea. In turn, the Washington juvenile justice process will be performing well.
Reference
Clallam County Washington. (2013). The Juvenile Court Process. Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.clallam.net/courts/juvenilecourt.html”http://www.clallam.net/courts/juvenilecourt.html
