''Juvies'' is an
MTV (
Calamari Productions), and later MSNBC
television show
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...
following minors in the
Lake County, Indiana
Lake County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2020, its population was 498,700, making it Indiana's List of counties in Indiana, second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point, Indiana, Cro ...
Juvenile Justice Complex. The series' first and only season debuted on MTV in February 2007, and has re-aired regularly since. On July 30, 2008, the ''NWI Times'' reported that production was underway for another documentary series also to be filmed at the Lake County Juvenile Justice Complex in Crown Point, Indiana. The MSNBC version, re-branded as "Lockup - Lake County Juvenile Justice," takes a deeper look at the inner workings of the LCJC detention and court systems, and it ventures into other correctional facilities in Indiana, and premiered on MSNBC on July 4, 2009 at 10:00 E.T.
Overview
Both the MTV and MSNBC versions of Juvies depict what happens to offenders in the
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
Juvenile Justice
A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...
system. The show features a behind the scenes look at the detention center and court process as it follows kids charged with committing relatively minor offenses such as
underage drinking
The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary between ...
, minor
theft
Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for som ...
,
marijuana use, running away, etc.
Each episode follows two youths from their initial intake in the detention center to their "
Detention Hearing
Detention may refer to:
Types of detention
* Detention (imprisonment), imprisonment of someone guilty or suspected of a crime
* Detention basin, an artificial flow control structure that is used to contain flood water for a limited period of ti ...
" where a
judge hears evidence on whether to keep the child detained, or release the child to their parents or elsewhere, pending a trial on the underlying charges. The series does not cover the trial on the charges themselves, however a brief epilogue appears at the end of each hour-long episode updating viewers on the eventual outcome of the case.
They have some special shorts called
Life After Juvies on MTV, where it shows how the child is doing after being a
juvie.
The unprecedented access (including voluminous amounts of
CCTV footage) to the juvenile court system, which is typically closed, was obtained by Calamari Productions from the
Indiana Supreme Court.
The song "Sometimes Your Best Isn't Good Enough", performed by
The Churchills, is the theme of the show.
Cast
Judge
All of the featured children appear before Lake County Indiana
Superior Court Judge Mary Beth Bonaventura.
Defense attorneys
Each child is represented at their detention hearing by a
defense attorney - either an appointed
public defender or private attorney hired by the family. The Lake County Juvenile Court uses
part time
Part Time (stylized as PARTIME) was an American pop band that was fronted by California-based musician David Loca (also credited as David Speck). Loca produced and wrote virtually all of the band's output, with most of their studio recordings c ...
public defenders who also maintain private law practices.
Attorneys who appear in episodes on behalf of the children include Donald Wruck, a trial lawyer at Wruck Paupore PC,
and solo practitioners, Geoff Giorgi, and Deidre Monroe.
Prosecuting attorneys
The State of Indiana is represented by a deputy prosecuting attorney, who elicits testimony and presents evidence in support of the charges pending against the child. However, because the hearings depicted on "MTV Juvies" are detention hearings, the issues are limited to whether the child should be detained awaiting trial.
The deputy prosecuting attorney appearing in several episodes is Kathy Guzek.
Episodes
Ratings
The show achieved record high ratings for MTV across dual demographics.
References
MTV Series Goes Behind The Walls of Lake County "Juvie"
External links
*
{{MTVNetwork Shows
2007 American television series debuts
2000s American legal television series
Juvenile law
MTV reality television series
American non-fiction television series