최근 미국소년사법의 현황과 전망

• Published in: 소년보호연구 Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 57 - 82
• Main Authors: 류병관, Ryu Byung Kwan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 한국소년정책학회 30.05.2015
• Subjects: Criminal culpability; Juvenile Justice System; Neuropsychology; Rehabilitation; S; Scientific studies of the adolescent brain; Trends and Prospect of U; 미국 소년 사법의 현황과 전망; 법학; 비행소년 뇌의 과학적 연구; 신경과학; 재사회화; 형사책임능력
• ISSN: 1598-8163; 2734-0414

Historically, the United States has generally treated juvenile offenders as children in need of rehabilitation, within a separate justice system designed to recognize their special needs and immature character. However by the 1990s, the increased prosecution of juveniles in adult criminal courts was becoming a nationwide trend. Tough on crime policies in a political climate focused on the fear of remorseless young “superpredators” became commonplace. Juvenile justice models moved away from an emphasis on rehabilitation and towards a more retributive system, including mandatory transfer policies, life without parole sentences, and even capital punishment for homicide offences. Against this tide of reform, the United States Supreme Court issued three landmark decisions in the last decade--Roper v. Simmons, Graham v. Florida, and Miller v. Alabama--that addressed the criminal culpability of young persons and the constitutional limits on appropriate sentencing dispositions. In each of these cases, the Court built on its prior jurisprudence on the inherent frailty of juvenile defendants and further relied upon modern scientific studies of the adolescent brain in concluding that adolescents are not as morally responsible for their behaviour as adults.