Where the Judiciary Prosecutes in Front of Itself: Missouri's Unconstitutional Juvenile Court Structure

Part II will describe the juvenile officer’s unique role in Missouri law, and explain how this role makes Missouri an outlier within the United States. Part III will argue that the juvenile officer’s prosecutorial discretion violates the separation of powers required by the Missouri Constitution and informed by the U.S. Constitution. Part IV will describe the real world harms that flow from this violation, with a particular focus on the harms in child abuse and neglect cases. Part V will outline potential policy solutions to this problem.