Compare and contrast the English and American youth courts

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Even before the commencement of trial a juvenile may have already had a number of hearings before youth court, such as a bail hearing or a hearing on transfer to adult court.
• In most instances, trials of juveniles are presided over by a three-member panel of youth court lay magistrates or judges.
• In urban areas it is common for a trial to be presided over by a single professional or more qualified judge. Juries are not used in English youth courts.
• The lay or nonprofessional youth court judges are elected to a three-year term by and from the court district in which they presently serve. These judges receive special training in the juvenile-offender laws; during trials they are often assisted by a legally trained court clerk.
• In the United States, only one juvenile court judge presides over a trial in the-juvenile courtroom.
• Judges are assisted by court clerks, but unlike in England, court clerks in the United States rarely have law degrees and do not advise judges on legal matters.
• In the United States, juvenile court judges are either elected or appointed to that position, but when they are elected, it is by the public, not their fellow judges, as in England. In the United States, trial by jury in a juvenile court is seldom used; the majority of states do not allow for it.
• Social workers and probation officers are other important actors in the English juvenile courtroom.
• Once a finding of guilt has been rendered, either party may be asked by the court to prepare a presentence report to assist the judge in sentencing.
• This is similar to a predisposition report in the U.S. juvenile justice system. As in the United States, plea bargaining is allowed for juveniles in England and is used extensively.
• As in the United States, juveniles in England can be transferred to adult court—what is referred to as Crown Court.
• A juvenile can be transferred to Crown Court for two main reasons: (1) The juvenile is charged with a heinous crime, such as murder, or (2) the juvenile is charged with a serious crime in conjunction with an adult.