CJUS 310 DB7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CJUS 310 DB7 - Essay Example This discussion focuses on the last phase of the juvenile court process referred to as disposition. After the verdict has been passed and the defendant found guilty, the judge orders the department of juvenile justice to prepare a predisposition report. This is aimed at recommending endorsements for the defendant (Krygier, 2009). The report usually entails the background, the family status and criminal history of the defendant. It is normally completed and served to the judge, defense attorney, the defendant and the assistant state attorney. The report also contains the recommended sentence that has been passed to the defendant for the judge to review. The report is not completed for all cases there are others that are an exception (Shoemaker, 2009). The case then proceeds to a dispositional hearing. Here, the judge sentences the defendant according to the crime committed and the circumstances that led to the case. The sentence may be imposed in two ways; either the defendant may be put under probation or may be committed to the department of juvenile justice (Krygier, 2009). Both sentences however do not go beyond the nineteenth birthday of the defendant. In cases where the defendant is put in probation, he/she is expected to complete community service work or letters of apology. This is usually not time conscious since as soon the juvenile serves as it expected of them the sentence may be terminated (Krygier, 2009). On the contrary when the juvenile is committed to the department of juvenile justice, their sentences are time associated (Shoemaker, 2009). In such instances then the court identifies the restriction that is most appropriate. Currently there are four commonly known levels of commitment. These are low risk programmes, moderate risk programmes, high risk programmes and lastly the juvenile prison (Shoemaker,