Juvenile vs. Adult Court Systems: The Case of Romero Filemon Zaragoza

Juvenile versus Adult Court Systems
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Juvenile versus Adult Court Systems
The case involves a man, Romero Filemon Zaragoza, who was arrested after being accused of raping a 15-year old child. The alleged rape incident occurred late in 2018, and the victim reported the issue in January of 2019. The victim reported that the accused raped them even after the victim told him to stop and pointed out that the man was hurting them. The victim had even attempted to escape. A warrant for his arrest was issued in September 2019, and the accused was arrested in February 2021 and booked into the Lewis County Jail. He was charged with 2nd- and 3rd-degree rape of a minor and the possession of methamphetamine, a controlled substance. As of February 2021, he was being held on bail worth $ 40,000, waiting for an arraignment hearing (The Chronicle Staff, 2021).
If the defendant were underage when the rape incident occurred, the defendant would not have been arrested. Instead, he would have been taken into custody. If it was necessary to take him into custody, the court would have issued a warrant, and if not, a summons on the accusation would have been issued. The defendant's details, such as name and other personally identifiable information, would not have been made public because any information of arrest and juvenile proceedings would have been sealed (The US Department of Justice, n.d.). Also, the defendant would have been taken to a detention center instead of jail to await trial/hearing (Siegel & Welsh, 2018). The defendant would also not have a constitutional right to get bail but would be released into his parents' custody.
Juvenile proceedings differ from adult criminal proceedings primarily on the rights and protections given to defendants in each type of proceedings. In juvenile proceedings, the defendant does not have the right to a trial. Instead, the court engages in what is called a fact-finding hearing or adjudication (Siegel & Welsh, 2018). These are heard by judges alone. There are no jurors. In addition, juveniles are prote...