Recent Posts in JUVENILES Category
| April 30, 2010 |
| BUENA PARK CURFEW SWEEP LEADS TO 10 ARRESTS |
| Posted By The Law office of Barney B. Gibbs |
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A sweep operation, targeting juveniles in violation of curfew laws, was conducted overnight in the city of Buena Park. Of the 15 minors, ranging in age from 9 to 17, contacted during last night's sweep, 10 were arrested. Of those 10, two were alleged to be in possession of "ecstasy" pills while another was identified as having been convicted of a sex offense. Additionally, one case of child abuse was uncovered.
According to reports, the operation was a joint effort between the Buena Park Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff's Department and the Orange County District Attorney's Office under the auspices of a recently formed task force known as Park Gang Reduction and Intervention Partnership (GRIP), which is designed to identify at-risk youths and intervene with the goal of increasing school attendance and decreasing gang activity. GRIP has been instituted in the cities of Anaheim, Orange, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Stanton as well. |
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| November 20, 2009 |
| LIFE SENTENCES FOR JUVENILES |
| Posted By The Law office of Barney B. Gibbs |
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The United States Supreme Court is at odds over whether juveniles should be subject to life sentences without the possibility of parole (LWOP).
The issue stems from two cases currently before the Court involving men sentenced to LWOP in Florida for violent crimes committed when they were teenagers. One man raped an elderly woman when he was 13 while the other was convicted for armed robberies committed when he was 16 and 17.
Attorneys for both argue such a sentence is "cruel and unusual punishment" as juveniles have a greater capacity to change, thus, should be given a second chance.
The quandary dividing the Court, however, is not new one. Rather, it is one long debated within the juvenile criminal justice system. That is, how do we reconcile the historical goal of rehabilitation with the violent, often gruesome, nature of the juvenile's crime.
While the Court has previously rejected the application of the death penalty for juvenile offenders, finding them to be less responsible than adults, it seems hardpressed to unanimously extend this relief when it comes to locking a juvenile away for life.
As stated by Justice Alito, "Some of the actual cases are so horrible that I couldn't have imagined them if I hadn't actually seen them." Conversely, Justice Bader-Ginsburg raised the question of whether teenagers, whose mental, emotional and physical maturity is incomplete, can be "accurately evaluated" at the time of sentence.
Regardless of the Court's decision, this is an issue not likely to be fully resolved anytime soon. |
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