Juvenile Courts in the United StatesPeople under the age of 18 are considered minors and when they break the law, they are not charged in adult courts. They are charged in young offender courts, also called juvenile courts. For an offender to be eligible for juvenile court, he or she must be classified as a juvenile under state law. The age of 18 is the maximum age at which an offender can approach the juvenile courts. The applicable age in a few states is 16 or 17, while the state of Wyoming sets the maximum age at 19. In this regard, persons over the age of 18 cannot be tried in juvenile courts. In addition to the maximum age limit, states have also set the minimum age at which a child can be tried in juvenile courts. In most states, people under the age of 7 are not eligible to go to court because they cannot tell the difference between what is wrong and what is right. Ritter (2010) states that people under the age of seven may not be able to form a guilty mind. The decision whether children aged 7 to 14 have the capacity to form a guilty mind is made by judges. If the judge believes that the child had the capacity to form criminal intent, he can refer him to juvenile court. In juvenile courts, judges have the obligation to determine the fate of the juvenile offender: the circumstances in which juveniles are detained; when they should be released; and the length of their sentence. In most states, children ages 14 and older are believed to have the capacity to form criminal intent. Thus, most cases involving people aged 14 to 18 are resolved in juvenile courts. According to the st...... middle of paper ...... Fall97, Vol. 88 Number 1, p190, 51pKristin, H., (2009). What's wrong with victims' rights in juvenile court? : Retributive versus rehabilitation justice systems. California Law Review; August 2009, vol. 97 Number 4, p1107-1170, 64pPackel, AK, (2002). Juvenile justice and punishment of repeat offenders under California's three strikes law. California Law Review; July 2002, vol. 90 Issue 4, p1157, 46pRitter, MJ, (2010). Fair jargon (juvenile justice): an argument for terminological uniformity between the juvenile and criminal justice systems. American Journal of Criminal Law; Spring 2010, Vol. 37 Number 2, p221-240, 20pSellers, BG and Arrigo, BA, (2009). Adolescent transference, developmental maturity, and decision-making competence: An investigation of ethical and judicial policies. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology; Spring 2009, Vol. 99 Number 2, p435-487, 53p