The American juvenile justice system was established over one hundred years ago to address the problem of young offenders. This course explores the historical, social and legal foundations for our current system. We will examine the issue of “rights” as applied to children and look at the effects of ideology and politics on the current juvenile justice system. How have assumptions of childhood and responsibility changed? Has the juvenile court been “criminalized” with the introduction of due process rights for children? Under what circumstances are children treated as adult offenders? Issues such as police interrogation of juveniles, school safety, search and seizure, female offenders, and anti-youth crime policies will be addressed by scrutinizing court cases and legislative history. Using the Massachusetts model, one of the early and often emulated juvenile systems, we will examine the changes in the prosecution and incarceration of juveniles over the past century. As we consider the over arching issue of whether it makes sense to maintain a separate system for juveniles, we may compare our system to those of other nations. Students are expected to attend each class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. Course requirements include a weekly reading response, a 15-20 page final paper, a class presentation based on paper topic or related class readings, and a visit to the Boston Juvenile Court. A limited number of students will be permitted to fulfill the upper-class writing certification requirement. NOTE: This seminar satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.