In this assignment, you will select and discuss two juvenile cases, the crimes committed, and the various criminal justice theories that may help explain the crime (hint- you will have to draw on knowledge gained from your CJ102 course, Intro to Criminology). Have the juvenile courts and juvenile corrections been adequate in the prosecution and punishment of minor persons accused and/or convicted of these crimes? Do you feel that legislation needs to be changed to influence either the punishment or rehabilitation of suspects accused of these crimes? Do you feel the victims or their families would support the legislation changes you are proposing? Why or why not? Do you feel that this legislature targets one group more than others (i.e. gang populations, lower socio-economic status populations, etc.)? Be sure to apply fundamental concepts of the administration of the justice process in your reflection. Your paper must be formatted in the following manner:

The paper must be approximately 1000 words in length (roughly 3-4 pages). Only the body of the paper counts towards the length. No information that belongs on a title page or reference page will count towards the length requirement.

Please follow APA guidelines; provide a title and reference page, use Times New Roman 12 point font, and double-space your lines. You need to have 5 references, two of which can be your texts from this class. Their references can be found in the course syllabus.

Guidance for the Week 7 Paper:

This week’s assignment is a reflection paper where students are expected to write a 1000 word essay and use 5 references. This means that 5 sources must be cited in the essay because APA 6^th edition states a reference page can only contain sources that were cited in the body of the essay. The essay must be in Times New Roman 12-point font and it must have a title page and a Reference Page. It is imperative that you have the textbook for this assignment because essentially many of the questions are answered in the textbook. The textbook will give you a base but students should also conduct additional research. The lecture notes and PowerPoint presentation also had useful information for this assignment. A sample outline is as follows:

I. Introduction- Briefly introduce what your paper will be about

II. Body

a. Juvenile Case I- Select a case based on what you have learned/read

i. Discuss a criminal behavior theory that explains why the juvenile committed the juvenile committed (Note: Take the information/details of the case and critically analyze it then use a criminal behavior theory to explain why)

b. Juvenile Case II- Select a case based on what you have learned/read..

i. Discuss a criminal behavior theory that explains why the juvenile committed the juvenile committed (Note: Take the information/details of the case and critically analyze it then use a criminal behavior theory to explain why)

c. Have the juvenile courts and juvenile corrections been adequate in the prosecution and punishment of minor persons accused and/or convicted of these crimes? (Note: Be detailed in your explanation as to why or why not and use sources to support your original ideas)

d. Do you feel that legislation needs to be changed to influence either the punishment or rehabilitation of suspects accused of these crimes? Do you feel the victims or their families would support the legislation changes you are proposing? Why or why not? Do you feel that this legislature targets one group more than others (i.e. gang populations, lower socio-economic status populations, etc.)?

III. Conclusion- Summarize your essay (Note: re-state pertinent points made and toss in what you have learned).