You Are a Specialist in Adolescent Development and Have Been

question 60

Essay

You are a specialist in adolescent development and have been invited to serve as an expert witness in a high profile case. The case involves a 15-year-old girl who is being charged with a gruesome first-degree murder. The judge would like to hold this girl to the same standards of criminal responsibility as he would an adult. As such, the judge has chosen to process this girl in a criminal court. Do you think the teenage murderer would be competent to stand trial in a criminal court? Based on what you know about the legal boundaries between childhood and adulthood, do you agree with the judge's decision? Where does our society typically draw the line between adolescence and adulthood?

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