Matter of Johnson

By the Laws of 1969, Ch. 432, § 2, codified as Md. Ann. Code art. 26, § 70, the General Assembly of Maryland set forth in unambiguous terms its purpose in respect to the law governing juvenile causes and delinquent children. The Legislature stated the purpose of the Act to be:

“(1) To provide for the care, protection and wholesome mental and physical development of children coming within the provisions of this subtitle;(2) To remove from children committing delinquent acts the taint of criminality and the consequences of criminal behavior, and to substitute therefor a program of treatment,…