For this week's debate, we're going to tackle an issue near and dear to many of you: juvenile delinquency. Specifically, we'll be reading about the policy of “automatic declination.”
Check it out....
"Automatic declination.” It is little known outside the justice system and sends roughly 200 Washington teenagers a year into adult courts and — potentially — adult penitentiaries. As the term indicates, it happens automatically, without a hearing or any debate. The idea is simple: Here is a list of crimes. Commit one of these and, if you are 16 or 17, you go straight to adult superior court, not juvenile court.
A prosecutor can decide to send the offender to juvenile court, but can’t be compelled by a judge or defender. “Prosecutors have the power of God,” one critic says.
The law was originally designed to punish the worst of the worst, but in practice that’s often not the case. Race, the strength of a defense attorney, the mood of a prosecutor and sheer luck can play a major role in deciding who is treated as a juvenile and who is not.
I know, heavy stuff right? So here's the plan: read this article and take detailed notes. It's a confusing read and if you don't keep all the twists and turns straight on some notebook paper, you're going to have a tough time sorting all our. One suggestion might be to do a "word-web" type chart. Either way, notes will be collected and graded. After we've all had a chance to read the article and go over our notes as a group, we'll split into two like we did last week and debate the following proposition, Oxford style:
"The practice of automatic declination, and the sentencing of juveniles as adults for anything other than the most serious of crimes (murder, rape, armed robbery) is counter productive and unnecessarily destructive. This practice should be stopped immediately. "
Good luck and get to work.....
-Ned-
