Americans take their constitutional rights very seriously, but yet we don’t care if juveniles receive the same rights adults do. In our court system today juveniles are not treated as equals. In fact, we don’t consider juveniles as a part of our criminal justice system, they are segregated into their own system called the juvenile justice system. One downfall to this system is that juveniles don’t have the constitutional right to seek bail. The fact that juveniles are forced into a system that doesn’t honor their constitutional rights is outrageous.
Seeking bail is an important part of our justice system. This gives individuals on trial the right to be at home during their trails. This gives the accused individuals many benefits such as; access to their attorney without limitation from the jails, the ability to comprehend what is happening in a safe space, continue earning an income, etc. By not giving juveniles the option to receive bail they are setting them up for a more difficult trial experience. This is especially true since trials usually take months or even years to finish.
By reviewing some of the basic rights adults have in our criminal justice system, we can begin helping juveniles. Just because someone is under the age of 18 doesn’t mean they don’t deserve their natural born rights. If we structured the juvenile justice system like we structured the criminal justice system, then these children would have an easier time rehabilitating into functional members of society.
Please leave comments below on whether or not you think it’s fair that juveniles don’t have the right to seek bail!