ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on recent American handlings of juvenile suspects, by discussing United States v. Muse and United States v. Hasan. It discusses the recent release of a juvenile suspect-most likely for lack of political and judicial will to deal with the complex issue of devising an appropriate legal and policy regime to handle the allegation of juvenile status in piracy prosecutions in federal court. The chapter describes that the United States should neither refuse to prosecute juvenile piracy suspects nor treat all piracy suspects as adults, without adopting appropriate age determination procedures. Particular constitutional issues impact the potential prosecution of juvenile piracy suspects in the United States. In fact, the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the imposition of cruel and unusual punishment against any individuals. In sum, the United States should develop appropriate policy and a specific legal regime, which would apply to all juvenile piracy suspects.
