The goal of Juvenile Court is to balance the best interests of the child with the claim of parental rights. Parents have a right to direct the upbringing of their children, including the right to exclude others from that function. They also have procedural rights to contest custody, visitation, and adoption. But the assertion of any of these rights may conflict with the child’s best interests.

In 2-3 paragraphs, using your own words respond to the following:

• Define the best interest of the child standard.
• What are the legal categories considered by the course for abuse and neglect?
• List three factors or standards the court may use to determine what is in the best interest of a child.
• Which factors are more difficult than others for the course to determine?
• When responding to peers, consider the factors they provided. Which of these factors are the most important to consider? Do you agree that those are difficult factors to identify? Post a response that suggests how that factor can be determined by providing an example.

l locate the various ways to avoid a guilty verdict for

criminal behavior. Until this point, you have been researching your

state’s criminal statutes. Now, you will turn to the defenses and

excuses for criminal behavior. Be creative in your research within the

statutes as these are not self-explanatory, but must be discovered by

reading in between the lines. The readings in your digital assets and

additional resources will help you in your research.

You will also look at the defenses and excuses not only from the defendant’s viewpoint, but from the viewpoint of the victim as well. This evaluative approach will stimulate some thoughts as there is no right or wrong answer. Place yourself in the shoes of the victim to complete this part of the assignment.

What You Need To Do?

In this assignment, go to South Carolina state statutes and locate at least six listed defenses and excuses based on your assigned readings. Provide a complete paragraph on each of the listed defenses and excuses explaining what is required in your state to justify a crime. Remember that a complete paragraph is a minimum of three complete sentences.

Keeping in mind the above scenario, analyze the following:

• Provide evidence on how successful using any of these defenses or excuses would be and if using them will prevent the accused from going to jail or prison.

After completing the first part of the paper, in two complete paragraphs discuss how these excuses or defenses affect victims in a particular situation.

Compile your summary report, including all information researched, and prepare a submission paper in accordance with the following guidelines:

• This paper is to be in APA format with a cover sheet and reference page at the end.
• The length of the paper is to be a minimum of three pages and no more than five pages. This length does not include your cover or reference sheets.
• Remember that APA font is Times New Roman, font size 12.