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Rights of Juveniles

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Rights of Juveniles
Describe the Legal rights juveniles have today
To protect juveniles from self-incrimination, provisions were made to have the Miranda rights available before being questioned by the police. A 1979 us supreme court ruling found that juveniles should have a waiver and be old enough to understand the consequences of waiving their rights. The Miranda rights also protects juveniles against the unlawful search of their personal property, unless it is to maintain order and safety among other students and do not go beyond any suspicions one may have. Three important Juvenile court Decisions A) Kent v. U.S. - A young man by the name of Morris Kent, age 14 was charged with numerous burglaries and attempted purse snatching in the District of Columbia in 1959. Kent was placed on juvenile probation and subsequently two years later was suspected of burglary and rape after his fingerprints were found at a woman’s apartment. He was detained for questioning and during this time he was evaluated for any mental sicknesses. A juvenile court judge felt that Kent should be tried as an adult so he transferred his case to the adult courts. Kent was found guilty of his crimes even though it was proven he suffered from a mental disease. The lawyers for the defendant believed it was unfair that Kent, 16 years old at the time was not given a hearing in juvenile court and appealed the fact that he was tried in an adult court. The decision was later overturned and measures were put in place to have juveniles be heard in a juvenile court, their records be accessible to their lawyers before being transferred to adult courts. B) In re Winship - This was the case of a 12 year old boy named Samuel Winship, who was believed to have entered a locker and stole $112. Even though there was not enough evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, Winship was believed to be guilty and sent to a training school for 18 months with the

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