Predictors of Juvenile Court Actions and Recidivism

1997 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin I. Minor ◽  
David J. Hartmann ◽  
Sue Terry
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Court Decision ◽  
Extralegal Factors ◽  
Juvenile Justice Policy ◽  
First Time ◽  
Relevant Factors

Variables related to court decision making and recidivism over a two-year follow-up were studied in a group of 475 first-time referrals to a juvenile court. Recidivism was associated with extralegal factors more consistently than were court actions except on the age variable. Court actions were more strongly related to legally relevant factors and, like the referral offense variable, failed to predict recidivism. The court's extensive and repeated reliance on diversion (vs. formal petitioning of cases) did not generate high recidivism levels, implying a need to reconsider the recent “get tough” orientation of juvenile justice policy.

Juvenile Court Outcomes for Retail Offenders: An Examination of Offense Type, Sex, and Race/Ethnicity

2021 ◽  
pp. 001112872110226
Author(s):  
Richard L. Elligson ◽  
Jennifer H. Peck ◽  
James V. Ray
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Court Decision ◽  
Joint Effects ◽  
Offense Type ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Judicial Outcomes ◽  
Extralegal Factors ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship

Using all delinquency referrals in a Northeast state, the current study examined how youth charged with retail offenses differed from other offense types across multiple juvenile court outcomes (i.e., petition, adjudication, and disposition). The individual and joint effects of a juvenile’s sex and race/ethnicity were also investigated to determine whether these extralegal factors conditioned the relationship between offense type and juvenile system processing. Findings indicate that at each decision-making stage, retail offenders were significantly more likely to be treated with leniency compared to other offense types. The results also reinforced the continued impact of sex and race/ethnicity on shaping judicial outcomes at each stage. Implications regarding the processing of juvenile retail offenders and the influence of juvenile characteristics on juvenile court decision-making are discussed.

What Context Matters and at What Level? A Test of Racial/Ethnic Threat, Symbolic Threat, and Structural Inequality Perspectives in Juvenile Court Decision-Making

2020 ◽  
pp. 001112872093834
Author(s):  
Michael J. Leiber ◽  
Ellen A. Donnelly ◽  
Yunmei Lu
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Court Decision ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Structural Inequality ◽  
Court Proceedings ◽  
Racial Ethnic ◽  
Zip Code

Do traditional theories of conflict influence juvenile court decision-making and explain racial/ethnic disparities? Racial/ethnic threat, symbolic threat, and structural inequality perspectives purport social controls increase when groups differ in race, ethnicity, or class. Scholarship tends to test one perspective at a time and use county as a unit of analysis. Taking a comparative approach, this study evaluates whether contextual indicators of these three theories, measured at the county- and zip code-levels, contribute to Black-White and Latino-White disparities in court decisions. Multilevel models reveal weak and partial support for each perspective. More effects appear at the zip code-level, indicating conflict may occur within rather than across courts. Macro-level theories must then be reconsidered to describe modern-day juvenile court proceedings.

PRE-COURT DECISION-MAKING IN JUVENILE JUSTICE

1989 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
GWYNN DAVIS ◽  
JACKY BOUCHERAT ◽  
DAVID WATSON
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Court Decision

PRE-COURT DECISION-MAKING IN JUVENILE JUSTICE

1991 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-191
Author(s):  
D. O'DOWD ◽  
J. R. ATKINSON ◽  
D. WOODWARD ◽  
P. BLACKHAM
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Court Decision

The Human Costs of “Giving the Kid Another Chance”

1991 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 296-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waln K. Brown ◽  
Timothy P. Miller ◽  
Richard L. Jenkins ◽  
Warren A. Rhodes
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Early Referral ◽  
Human Costs

This study is based on a 10- to 25-year follow-up of 500 randomly selected cases of juveniles adjudicated delinquent in the juvenile court of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Of 243 juveniles adjudicated delinquent in juvenile court on their first referral to juvenile justice, 20% went on to adult prison after the age of 18. Of 233 juveniles not taken to juvenile court on their first referral to juvenile justice, 43% were imprisoned in adult life after the age of 18. Early referral to the juvenile court of juveniles who commit delinquent acts appears to greatly reduce the likelihood that these individuals will go on to prison in adult life.

Race, Geography, and Juvenile Justice: An Exploration of the Liberation Hypothesis

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Taylor ◽  
Lori Guevara ◽  
Lorenzo M. Boyd ◽  
Robert A. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Racial Disparities ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Differential Outcomes ◽  
Liberation Hypothesis ◽  
Extralegal Factors

A large body of research indicates that both geography and race influence juvenile justice outcomes, with the exact magnitude and direction of the relationships still under dispute. In either case, differential outcomes likely stem from the varying influence of legal and extralegal factors. This study uses the spirit of the liberation hypothesis to explore how legal and extralegal factors contribute to geographic and racial disparities in juvenile court outcomes. Logistic and multinomial logistic regression are used to examine factors that influence preadjudication and disposition outcomes between an urban and suburban county, with the data partitioned by race within each county. Contrary to predictions, the analyses found more varying effects of legal and extralegal factors across race in the urban county than in the suburban county. Explanations of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals El efecto del género en la toma de decisiones en el sistema de Justicia Juvenil (The effect of gender on decision-making in the Juvenile Justice System)

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 442-464
Author(s):  
Ricardo Gallego Córcoles ◽  
Raquel Bartolomé Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Court Judge ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Toma De Decisiones

Existe evidencia de que cuestiones de género influyen en la toma de decisiones en Justicia Juvenil en diversos países. Sin embargo, en España no existen estudios empíricos al respecto. Una aproximación a nuestra realidad puede servir de punto de partida para realizar un análisis más profundo sobre la cuestión. Se diseñó un estudio descriptivo de naturaleza retrospectiva. La muestra estuvo constituida por 166 jóvenes, 127 chicos y 39 chicas, expedientados en el Juzgado de Menores de Guadalajara por cometer algún delito. Los resultados muestran que no existen diferencias significativas entre chicos y chicas en cuanto a las decisiones que se toman con respecto a ellos en ninguna de las fases del procedimiento judicial. Tampoco si se analizan únicamente los delitos violentos, tradicionalmente considerados propios de los chicos. Todas las profesionales que han intervenido en la toma de decisiones analizada son mujeres. Esta circunstancia puede influir en los resultados. There is enough evidence in scientific literature about the effect of gender on the decision-making in the Juvenile Justice System. However, in Spain, there are no known empirical studies in this regard. An approximation to our reality might serve as a starting point for a deeper analysis on the issue. The aim of the present study was to perform a descriptive, retrospective study of the cases disposed to the juvenile court judge during eight months in the Juvenile Court of Guadalajara, Spain. The final data set contained 166 cases, 127 boys and 39 girls disposed to the Juvenile Court of Guadalajara for committing some crime in the territorial scope of this province, No differences between sexes occurred in any case. Neither if only violent crimes are considered. All professionals who have intervened in the decision-making were women. This circumstance could influence the results obtained.

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