Week 6, Entry 2: Legally an adult?

When should a child be considered an adult? What does the law say? The first question can be debated to some degree and the second is unclear to say the least. At age 16, one can legally drive a car. At age 18, one can sign legally binding contracts, join the armed forces and vote. At age 21, one can legally drink alcohol. So, how can a 14 or 15 year old be tried as an adult when he/she is not considered under the law to be competent to do any of these things? And how can a 16 or 17 year old be tried as an adult when they’re still not considered to be competent to enter into a legally binding contract?

Many of the laws which prescribe a minimum age for responsibilities such as driving, voting and entering into contracts have a basis rooted in biology. Children are immature and their brains are still developing. In fact, it is believed that the human brain may not be fully developed until approximately age 25. Minors, having brains which are not fully developed-are considered to be incapable of making adult decisions and taking on adult responsibilities.

So, given that the law considers minors incapable of having a credit card or voting, how can they be held to an adult standard for crime? The juvenile justice system is based upon the fact that minors are generally not capable of making adult decisions and must be held to a lesser standard. This is why minors prosecuted in the juvenile courts are not entitled to a jury trial and generally are not imprisoned past their 18th birthday. It’s also why juvenile records are sealed. However, because of the lesser consequences available in the juvenile justice system, politicians have decided to pass laws to enable transfer of juveniles to the adult justice system at younger ages for certain crimes.

While a legitimate interest might be argued for the longer sentences for juveniles convicted of violent crimes (as I mentioned in my last post) it really does create a double standard, and it has raised some constitutional issues. Tomorrow I’ll discuss juveniles being given life sentences and the promising ruling in favor of justice handed down by the Supreme Court this year. Hopefully this trend will continue and the ability of politicians to deny justice for political gain will continue to erode.