How the juvenile justice system works: Will you be locked up if you get arrested? It depends.

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We asked youth who are serving time at a detention facility in the San Fernando Valley about their first time in juvenile court. Their facility—also called a "placement"—is more strict than house arrest but not as strict as juvenile camp or the California Youth Authority, which is youth prison. We are publishing the comments without names to protect the youths’ identities.  
 
I didn’t get treated with respect


By Name withheld, a 15-year-old-male who was 11 the first time he went to court

What did you expect it to be like before you got there?
I was nervous and scared. It was nothing like those court shows. You feel like no one has respect for who you are. I expected it to be very quiet, but it was smaller, noisy and crowded. A lot of people talking about who knows what, like that feeling you get when someone is talking behind your back.

What was confusing to you about the experience?
They’re calling out numbers, case loads and names, talking about something you don’t even know about and telling each other, "What should we do with this juvenile?"

What was intimidating or scary?
The scariest thing is when you see parents go in with their child and come out with no child and seeing them cry. It’s very hard because you never know what will happen to you.

How did you feel about the experience? Were you treated fairly?
I got treated unfairly. I didn’t get a chance to speak or say anything. They didn’t even know who or what kind of person I was to be sentencing me anywhere. I felt like I didn’t get respect from them, but at the same time you got to look at it this way: you committed a crime so now you do the time and you get treated like you treated the law.

If you could give advice to a teen who was going to court for the first time, what would you say?
Stop, think and express before you even commit a crime because believe me, going to the halls [Juvenile Hall] is nothing to be proud of.
    How did this affect you and your family? It affects your family knowing that you’re hurting them. And little by little you’re starting to lose their relationships, their love and support.

Do you think the juvenile justice system is fair and helps rehabilitate youth?
Being locked up six times, I didn’t really understand that I was putting my society in danger. But now I realize that I want to change for my loved ones. I think that the juvenile justice system helps you at some point. If you’re looking for help you will find it, maybe not now but later down the road.



I got a second chance

By Name withheld, a 17-year-old male who was 15 the first time he went to court in Pasadena

What did you expect it to be like before you got there?
I was hoping the judge would let me go, but if he didn’t I was worried about him giving me a harsh consequence. I honestly thought I would just get a ticket and they would let me go and I would have to pay a fine. I got house arrest and probation with a gang file, meaning I was on file as a gang member.

What was confusing to you about the experience?
My first time going to court I didn’t know nothing. Like the D.A. [district attorney], I thought, why is he trying to give me a harsh consequence? Why is this guy going against me?

What was intimidating or scary?
In the holding tank people were like, "Where you from?" [what gang are you in?] It was scary. I told them I was from nowhere.

How did you feel about the experience? Were you treated fairly?

If you could give advice to a teen who was going to court for the first time, what would you say?
Tell the truth. Expect the worst and hope for the best.

How did this affect you and your family?
It was difficult for me to follow new [probation] rules, like not being able to hang out with my homies, not being able to go outside or even step on my porch. I was also getting tested for drugs and it was impossible for me to stop using drugs overnight, so I was continuously testing positive and going back and forth between jail and house arrest. Also, my mom being worried. She has cancer, high blood pressure and takes seizure medicine. I was arrested six times. It raised her blood pressure. I felt like I was the worst child in the world.

Do you think the juvenile justice system is fair and helps rehabilitate youth?
Well I can only speak for myself, so for me, of course. I thank GOD for giving me six chances. The court saw something in me, that I can change and be a better person. They gave me so many chances, hoping I would change. If they would have sent me to camp or Youth Authority, I’d be doing the same thing when I got out.
    There’s more therapy and help here. Here I started to realize what life is about. It’s not about constantly making mistakes. It’s about making mistakes and learning from them. I want to conquer my dreams. I’ve been here 10 months. I told them I wanted to stay because I wanted to get my diploma. Me on the outs [not locked up], I wouldn’t have done that.
    Yes. All my other friends their first time got six to nine months in a placement or camp.



I couldn’t speak for myself


By Name withheld, a 15-year-old male who was 14 the first time he went to court in Oxnard in Ventura County

What did you expect it to be like before you got there?
I was really scared going to court because I didn’t want anything bad to happen to me. I was expecting something really different. I thought I wasn’t going to get in trouble at all or that I was going to get house arrest. 

What was the outcome?
I was in juvenile hall for two weeks and at the end I got picked up to go to placement.

How did you feel about the experience? Were you treated fairly?
I felt scared, but at the same time I was mad because I couldn’t speak up for myself.

If you could give advice to a teen who was going to court for the first time, what would you say?
To be strong and don’t give up, because you could make wrong decisions.

How did this affect you and your family?
I was away from home and everything that I had. It also affected my family because they have to pay the consequences for my actions.

Do you think the juvenile justice system is fair and helps rehabilitate youth?
I think it is kind of fair, but on the other hand it is not. They should let kids speak up for themselves because the system doesn’t truly know the kid. Kids make bad choices but that’s not who they really are.



I feared getting sent away


By Name withheld, a 17-year-old male who ws 15 the first time he went to court in Pomona

What did you expect it to be like before you got there?
I was thinking it would be like the way it was on TV and in the movies. I expected a large courtroom with a lot of people. But it wasn’t how I expected it to be.

What was confusing to you about the experience?
The most confusing thing was when the judge speaks in numbers, like case numbers, department numbers, and speaks with words I can’t understand.

What was intimidating or scary?
The scary part was I wasn’t sure what case I had [what charges he faced]. They told me I had a drug sales charge. I was nervous because everybody in court was staring at me. My attorney told me if I lost my case I could go to California Youth Authority for a couple years.

What was the outcome?
I got nine months at camp. I felt better knowing I didn’t get years in California Youth Authority.

How did you feel about the experience? Were you treated fairly?
I felt they didn’t treat me fairly. Every time I went to court they never asked me if I wanted to make a deal, like giving me placement or house arrest. Camp never helped me. Here I am in placement and I am learning new things like being drug-free and gang-free. I feel placement helps teens a lot if you know how to use it and stay focused.

If you could give advice to a teen who was going to court for the first time, what would you say?
Be honest and don’t talk back to the judge. Stay focused and let God in you.



Attorneys should get to know us better

By Name withheld, a 16-year-old male who was 15 the first time he went to court in downtown Los Angeles.

What did you expect it to be like before you got there?
Well, for my charges I always expected the worst.

What was scary or intimidating?
The judge’s decision and me walking in with handcuffs.

How did you feel about the experience? Were you treated fairly?

How did this affect you and your family?
Being sent to a placement actually helped me a lot. Probably, I’ll make some changes.

Do you think the juvenile justice system is fair and helps rehabilitate youth?
Yes! Well it at least helped me by sending me to placement. It’s actually like a given chance to me.
Yes, other than not letting me speak my own words. They’re saying I’m a criminal. And I’ve got feelings about what they’re saying. I’d like to speak my own words and see how they feel. It’s coming from my attorney and he doesn’t even know me. They changed my attorney three times and each time they gotta question you all over. It’s like starting over.



You have to want to change

By Name withheld, a 17-year-old male who was 17 the first time he went to court in Long Beach.

What was scary or intimidating to you about the experience?

What was the outcome?
Bad, but not as bad as I thought. I went to juvenile hall and then here [detention facility]. My sentence was six months.

How did you feel about the experience? Were you treated fairly?

If you could give advice to a teen who was going to court for the first time, what would you say?
Be ready for an outcome you don’t want.

Do you think the juvenile justice system is fair and helps rehabilitate youth?
No. I think it can be helpful if you are guilty and should be sentenced to jail or placement. But it can’t rehabilitate if the minor doesn’t want to be cooperative and run his program, which means following rules. I think minors should cooperate when going to placement because you are going to be there anyway, so why make things more difficult for yourself?
    Everything inside the courtroom, including everybody. No. [The judge] listened more to my mother’s opinion than mine.



Click here to read Selina’s story about observing a day of juvenile court proceedings.