Amador ledger., 1909-04-30
NEW COURT
ESTABLISHED.
Terms Determined and Officers
Elected-Explanatlon of JuVe-
nile Court.

as mem bers of the probation COM
mittee for Tuolumne county under
the law providing for a juvenile
court met ia the chambers of Superior
Judge G.. w. Nicol last Saturday, and
organized. BY lot 1t was decided
that the term of service of each MEM
ber would be as follows: Chas. ii.
Segerstrom, one year; Mrs b. L..
Rehm, George Mundorf, two years;
Mrs d. FL. Steinmetz, j. z. Hardin,
three years; Miss M. A. Fahey, Geo.
W. johnson, four years. Subsequent
appointments will be for four years,
Mr. Segerstrom was selected as the
presiding officer and Mr. Mundorf as
secretary.
In this connection we present to
our readers full explanation of the
new law with observations thereon by
j. w. Hughes, judge of the Sacra-
mento juvenile court, who has de-
voted much gstudy to the problems
presented in the care of dependent
and delinquent children. Judge
Hughes article is as follows:
Any person may apply to the juve-
nile court for the protection and
care of a dependent or delinquent
child. A dependent child, under the
law, is any child who may be found
begging on the streets; or who is a
vagrant; or who is found wandering
and having no home; or who has no
parent or guardian who scaTes for
him; or who is destitute, or whose
home. by reason of neglect, cruelty,
or depravitv of his parents, is an un-
ut place for suoh child; or who tre-
quents the company of criminals; OF
who habitually visits any pool-room,
saloon, or place where spirituous
liquors are sold; or who persistently
refuses to obey the reasonable direc-
tions of his parents; or who is in
corrigibIe and beyond the control OF
his parents; or whose father is dead,
or has abandoned his family, or is an
hanitual drunkard; or who is in
danger of being brought up to lead
an improper or immoral life; or who
is an habitual truant from school; OF
who habitually uses liquor, cigarettes.
opium, etc. A delinquent child is
any child that violates any ordinance
of the city or county or any law OF
the state In other words, whenever
a child is being neglected. or NAL
treated, or is itself doing anything
contrary to the law, the child or the
parent may be brought before the
juvenile court for the purpose of cor
rectiug the evil.
1he new law means that no chilc
under The age of eighteen years car
be tried for crime until he and hi
case are fully examined by the juve
nile court and it has been determined
by that court that the child is $50 bac
that he may not be reformed unde
the juvenile court law.
The new law means that wheneve
any child is brought to trial IN TIL,
Justices or police court, it is tn
duty of the judge in each of thes
courts to inquire into the age of tn
) child and, if he is under eighteen
to certify that fact, and the charge t.
the juvenile court, and he is ther
tried.
The new law also provides that il
: certain cases children under nineteel
years of age who are delinquent ma,
be sent to a reform school, or may b
placed on probation and otherwls
cared for. 1t also provides that whe
in the superior court child unde
twenty and over eighteen years o
age stands charged with a felony
the court may In certain instances
apply the juvenile court law to sue
child and place him on probation o
IN the reform school. In each of tn
last named cases, IL the child prove
to be hey ond reformation under tn
juvenile court law, he then may b
tried under the general criminal law
of the state, like any other person
aud punished accordingly.
Under the old law a child owe
seven years of age might, upon clea
proof that he underf TODD the wrong
fulness of his act, be sentenced t
the penitentiary while under the ne'
law no child under fourteen years @
age may be sentenced to the peni
, tentiary, and he cannot even be lrie
for crime until the juvenile court ha
determined that he may be tried.