Colorado Juvenile Court Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Colorado Juvenile Court Law - Essay Example The juvenile justice system has been built incorporating the values of restorative justice as influenced by Judeo-Christian beliefs and traditional legal philosophies. However, the availability of handguns, drugs, and gangs has intensified the level of violence that erupts from the juvenile criminal element (Territo, Halsted, and Bromley, 2004, p.572). This paper will examine the laws of Colorado and evaluate the situations that invoke the application of the Colorado Discretionary Waiver provision as amended in 2007. It will make a determination as to the appropriateness of the law and the proportionality of its implementation. Juvenile offender and status offender laws vary by state, and Colorado has some significant differences in their approach to juvenile justice based on the Colorado Discretionary Waiver provision as amended in 2007. According to the provision, "The juvenile court may certify a child meeting age/offense criteria for trial as an adult in district court if, after investigation and a hearing, it finds that (1) there is probable cause to believe that the child committed an offense for which judicial waiver is authorized and (2) it would be contrary to the best interests of the juvenile or of the public to retain jurisdiction" (Griffin, 2008).