Talk:Status offense

Different meaning of status offences

It seems to me that this article is totally wrong. A status offence is where a person is liable, not for their actions, ie. vandalism, but for their state, ie. being on private premises for an unlawful purpose. Anyone care to voice an opinion on this? --Matthew Proctor 01:42, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

The article isn't totally off-base. One definition I found online is "A type of crime that is not based upon prohibited action or inaction but rests on the fact that the offender has a certain personal condition or is of a specified character." So the juvenile-focus of this article isn't totally off; however, it could be more well rounded. There is a subset of law that is specific to "juvenile status offense". U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(c)(2) states that a juvenile status offense is a crime which can not be committed by an adult, i.e. possession of a firearm by a minor. That cannot be done by an adult. "Juvenile status offenders are distinguished from juvenile delinquent offenders. Status offenders have not committed an act that would be a crime if committed by an adult; delinquent youths have committed such an act." In Wyoming, the term "status offense" does not apply to adults at all; according to their law, it is only for under-18s.[ http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2006/interim/jud/BILLS/07lso-0076w2.pdf] So this article is clearly biased, but not completely off-base. I do not have the desire to search out the legalese this article would require to make it good, but I will watch it and contribute if possible. - Freechild 17:43, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Changed my mind a little; I'll add what I found here to spark anyone else to contribute more. - Freechild 17:45, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Cleanup

This article, as the discussion above and the editing history demonstrates, needs a cleanup. There are red links, grmmar problems, editing mistakes, etc. When I have time, I'll make some fixes. Bearian 22:42, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

I did it myself. Bearian 12:48, 20 June 2007 (UTC)