Structural Variations in Juvenile Court Processing

2020 ◽  
pp. 493-510
Author(s):  
Robert J. Sampson
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Structural Variations ◽  
Court Processing

Examining the Type of Legal Representation and Its Influence on Disaggregated Dispositions in Juvenile Court

2021 ◽  
pp. 154120402110276
Author(s):  
Caitlin M. Brady ◽  
Jennifer H. Peck
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Alcohol Treatment ◽  
Public Defender ◽  
Legal Representation ◽  
Out Of Home Placement ◽  
Home Placement ◽  
Court Processing ◽  
Community Sanctions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Drug And Alcohol

While prior studies of juvenile court outcomes have examined the impact of legal representation on out-of-home placement versus community sanctions, previous research has not fully explored the variation within sanctions that youth receive. The current study examines the influence of type of legal representation (public defender or private attorney) when predicting juvenile adjudications and dispositions. Using a sample of delinquent referrals from a Northeast state between 2009 and 2014, results showed that youth do receive different outcomes (e.g., probation, drug and alcohol treatment, accountability-oriented dispositions, etc.) based on the type of legal representation. The findings have important implications for juvenile court processing related to how courtroom actors impact case outcomes.

Expanding the Applicability of Sampson and Laub’s Theory of Inequality and Social Control: A Multilevel Examination

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 902-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer H. Peck ◽  
Michael J. Leiber ◽  
Maude Beaudry-Cyr
Keyword(s):  
Social Control ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Ethnic Inequality ◽  
Linear Modeling ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Community Factors ◽  
Court Processing ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Racial Ethnic

The present study uses Sampson and Laub’s theory of inequality and social control to examine whether underclass poverty and racial/ethnic inequality hold current relevancy over the court processing of juvenile offenders. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling was used to investigate the impact of community aspects, offender characteristics, and offense-related factors on juvenile court outcomes occurring at intake, adjudication, and judicial disposition. Findings indicate limited evidence for the anticipated relationships between underclass poverty and racial/ethnic inequality on court processing stages. The individual and combined impact of being Black or Hispanic, and/or charged with a drug offense, exerted stronger effects on juvenile justice decision-making compared with Sampson and Laub’s structural factors. Implications for addressing the federal Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Mandate based on the findings are discussed, as well as the future empirical inquiry surrounding whether community factors interact with offender and offense characteristics to influence outcomes of youth referred to juvenile court.

Race and the Impact of Detention on Juvenile Justice Decision Making

2005 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 470-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Leiber ◽  
Kristan C. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
African American Youth ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Court Processing ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Detention Facilities ◽  
Research And Policy

In recent years, the growing number of minority youth disproportionately confined in secure detention facilities has led to a search for a better understanding of this occurrence. Explanations vary but tend to center on either differential offending or selection bias. The present study examines the extent both may explain decision making by specifically assessing the effect of race on detention and the degree that race and detention influence further court processing in one juvenile court jurisdiction in the state of Iowa. Multivariate analyses using juvenile court data (1980 through 2000) show that although legal factors account for some of the decision making and minority over representation, so too does race. Evidence is presented that, through detention, race has direct, interaction, and indirect effects that often work to the disadvantage of African American youth relative to White youth. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.

Juvenile Aid Panels: An Alternative to Juvenile Court Processing in South Australia

1980 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary Sarri ◽  
Patrick W. Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Juvenile Courts ◽  
Status Offenders ◽  
Court Processing

Diversion and other alternatives to juvenile court processing are being used increasingly in many countries. Juvenile aid panels were developed and implemented in South Australia as a part of the 1971 revised Juvenile Courts Act. Findings from the study of a five-year cohort of youths pro cessed through the juvenile aid panels and the juvenile court are presented and analyzed. The findings indicate that the rate of reappearance of youths processed through the panels was essentially similar to that of youths processed through the court. Thus, as far as the criterion of re cidivism is concerned, this more benign and less stigmatizing mechanism is at least as effective as court processing. Panels were not successful in removing all minor and status offenders from processing in the court, nor were the numbers of cases processed by the court reduced as a result of the panels. Quite the opposite—the entire juvenile justice system grew rapidly during this five-year period, largely because of increased numbers pro cessed by the panels.

Assessing Variations in Juvenile Court Processing in Urban Versus Rural Courts: Revisiting “Justice by Geography”

2021 ◽  
pp. 154120402110095
Author(s):  
Jhon A. Pupo ◽  
Steven N. Zane
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Multilevel Research ◽  
Potential Sources ◽  
Limited Support ◽  
Sources Of Variation ◽  
Court Processing ◽  
Urban Versus

Drawing on Feld’s (1991) “justice by geography” thesis, we examined whether juvenile court outcomes and case-level influences on those outcomes varied across urban and rural courts. Using a sample of 60,068 juvenile referrals across 66 counties in one state, we estimated direct effects of urbanism on detention, petition, adjudication, and judicial placement, as well as cross-level interactions between urbanism and several case-level factors for each outcome. We found limited support for the hypotheses. First, findings indicated that odds of detention were significantly greater in more urban courts, but indicated no differences in other outcomes. Second, findings also indicated greater extralegal differences (race, sex, and age) in more urban courts—contrary to hypotheses. Taken together, findings highlight the localized yet complex nature of juvenile justice processing and emphasize the need for additional multilevel research assessing the role of other contextual factors as potential sources of variation across macrosocial units.

Understanding the Subgroup Complexities of Transfer: The Impact of Juvenile Race and Gender on Waiver Decisions

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-155
Author(s):  
Sara L. Bryson ◽  
Jennifer H. Peck
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Black Females ◽  
White Males ◽  
Joint Influence ◽  
Judicial Waiver ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Court Processing ◽  
The Impact

While prior research has consistently found the presence of extralegal disparities in juvenile justice decision-making, less research has investigated the combined effects of a juvenile’s race and gender on the decision to transfer youth to adult court. The current study examines both the individual and joint influence of race and gender on transfer decisions of all judicial waiver-eligible youth in a Northeast state from 2004 to 2014. Results indicate that Black males had the highest likelihood of being judicially waived, followed by White males, then Black females. White females had the greatest chance of being retained in juvenile court. The findings have important implications for juvenile court processing by informing researchers, practitioners, and policyholders about potential reform efforts that target judicial waiver.

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