Although the juvenile justice legislation adopted May 20 by the Senate had been significantly modified, the American Civil Liberties Union pledged to continue to work against the bill, saying that it could actually lead to increases in adult crime. By blocking any ability for children to reform themselves, the bill would inevitably result in more hardened career criminals. The bill, S. 254, was adopted tonight by a vote of 73 to 25. It now goes to the House, which is considering vastly different juvenile justice legislation. One particularly disturbing element of the legislation would enable schools, employers and others to view juvenile crime records.
Current law requires that all juvenile records and proceedings be closed to the public.
By lifting this requirement, this legislation makes it difficult for children to put their past behind them and become productive members of society. Another troublesome element of the legislation, the ACLU said, are the provisions that could lead to children being housed in adult jails with experienced criminals. While the bill's proponents say they have corrected the problem of housing children in adult facilities, the ACLU said the issue remains because the bill would permit the federal government to prosecute children as young as 14 as adults. The ACLU said it was also deeply disappointed in the Senate's failure to address a provision that would aggravate the already unfair treatment of minority youth at every level of the justice system. At least 40 states are currently developing plans to address how their justice systems unfairly treat minority youth.