Law Homework Help

first discussion:

Considering this case, I think the details of it would rise to the level of this case going to adult court and not in juvenile court. There are plenty of details about this 15 year old knowing what he did, and that it was wrong. He tried to hide and even attempt to destroy the evidence (bodies). At the very least, he was premeditated in his killing of the father. While it is hard to say that the first death of the mother was premeditated, he knew what he did was wrong and laid in wait for his father to come home, where he would kill him. Once they were both dead, he put them in car and attempted to burn it. All of these things suggest something serious is going on with a teenager that is heinous enough to push his case to adult court.

With any philosophy, there will be specific instances where it would not work. What I like about Parens partiae is that there is a guide to follow when taking action against a juvenile. What does not work is watching juveniles slip through cracks who could have a mental health disorder that was undiagnosed, and/or never known by the parents. If mental health is the problem for a juvenile to end up in the juvenile system, then when A happens, B is the answer to fix it. It just it not always that simple. While I think guidelines are very important to use, juveniles are just like adults and each circumstance should be taken into account before decisions are made. Additionally, with this philosophy, the chancellors appear to have more control over the child and their wellbeing than the parents do. This is a foreign concept to me, but I do see how this type of philosophy is in the US system with Social Services and Court Designated Workers, in the juvenile court system. Both have the best interest of the child in mind, which is what I think should be taken into account for children anyway.

second discussion:

I believe that in the case of Moses Kamin be tried as an adult. Due to the severity of the case I do not believe that the juvenile justice system can nor is it set up to properly review this case, because Kamin is committed a violent crime that does not meet the elements of a “status offender” which the juvenile justice system is more suited to review. When you look at the elements of the case and apply them to the text, Moses Kamin commited a crime which would make him a delinquent. In this case parens patriae would be applied to Kamins legal counsel and/or probation officer if he were to be released under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA)

third discussion:

In this specific scenario, I believe that the offender being tried as an adult is the proper approach. At the age of 15 at the time of the offense, Moses Kamin was well aware of what he was doing and what the potential consequences of his actions would be. For a crime as severe as murder in the State of California, someone who is at least 14 years of age at the time the crime is committed can be tried as an adult. This would be the case for any crimes that fall under the category of 707(b) offenses (Chambers Law, 2017). The murder of his mother would likely be charged as second degree murder due to being committed out of an act of passion. The murder of his father would likely fall into the first degree murder category as he planned and waited until he arrived home to murder him.

I personally would prefer the expanded use of the get-tough movement in the treatment of the increase in violence in the juvenile justice system. Many juveniles that find themselves in these systems of rehabilitation are repeat offenders that do not necessarily respond well to less severe types of punishment. Each case can be reviewed on an individual basis, but these swifter and more harsh types of punishments could lead to better results. I still believe that rehabilitation efforts should be made as these individuals are still children and may be developing at a different pace than their peers. These individuals are often raised in broken homes and are familiar with a life of crime and fear. This is all that many of these individuals know and show a belief for it to be a normal way of life.

I believe that our current system is sufficient in many cases, but I’m also a firm believer that the most violent offenders that are old enough to understand their actions and the consequences of those should be tried and punished using the adult judicial processes. Moses Kamin is a perfect example of someone that should be tried as an adult despite only being 15 years old at the time his crimes were committed. It’s an extremely unfortunate situation based on the circumstances surrounding the case, but Moses was old enough to comprehend what was going on. I don’t believe that the ultimate concept of parens patriae works with the most violent offenders, such as what was experienced in this scenario. These types of cases are where I believe that the get-tough movement will be the most valuable approach while still utilizing some methods of rehabilitation.