“Juvenile Justice Code Purpose Clauses: The Power of Words”

Source: (2007) Criminal Justice Policy Review. 8: 221-246.

The perception that juvenile crime is out of control and that the juvenile
justice system is too lenient on offenders has led to a reevaluation, in
popular discourse and academic scholarship, of the goals of the juvenile
justice system. This article seeks to determine the extent to which “get
tough” rhetoric has been operationalized by legislatures in the purpose
clause of the juvenile justice code. The purpose clause is found at the
beginning of a code section. It serves the function of explaining the goals
of that section of the code, outlining what the legislature hopes to accomplish
through the code. We examine juvenile justice code purpose clauses
to determine which states still adhere to the traditional model of juvenile
justice, which states have adopted a punitive approach, which states
have endorsed the balanced approach, and which states have failed to
adopt a coherent set of goals for the juvenile justice system.