Legal Definitions - incorrigible

The term incorrigible describes a person, often a minor, whose behavior is so consistently problematic, defiant, or resistant to correction that they are considered beyond the ability to be reformed or controlled through conventional means. It implies a persistent pattern of misconduct or delinquency that is difficult to change.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Imagine a 14-year-old who has repeatedly skipped school, violated curfew, and engaged in petty shoplifting despite numerous interventions. These interventions included parental discipline, school counseling, participation in a juvenile diversion program, and even a period of probation. If the teenager continues these behaviors without any sign of improvement or willingness to change, a court might deem them incorrigible.

  This illustrates the term because, despite various attempts at reform and control (counseling, diversion programs, probation), the teenager's delinquent behavior persists, suggesting they are "incapable of being reformed" by these methods.

• Consider a child in the foster care system who has been placed in multiple homes due to severe behavioral issues. These issues include aggressive outbursts towards other children and caregivers, intentional destruction of property, and repeated attempts to run away from each placement. Even with intensive therapy and specialized support services provided in each home, the child's behavior remains unchanged, leading social services to conclude that their conduct is beyond the capacity of typical foster care to manage.

  Here, the child's behavior is deemed incorrigible because it is so deeply entrenched and resistant to the structured, supportive environments of multiple foster homes and therapeutic interventions, making them "incapable of being reformed" within the existing system.