Effects of Juvenile Transfer to Criminal Court on Incarceration Decisions

• NCJ Number: 226468
• Journal: Justice Quarterly Volume: 26 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2009 Pages: 77-106
• Author(s): Benjamin Steiner
• Date Published: March 2009
• Length: 30 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research); Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using data from 37 urban counties, this study expanded on a recent study (Kurlychek and Johnson, 2004) by comparing the pretrial detention and imprisonment outcomes of juveniles transferred to criminal court (n=7,070) with these outcomes for adult defendants 29 years old or younger (n=7,260).

Abstract

The study found no differences between the juveniles transferred to adult court and adult defendants regarding whether they were released without bail or denied bail and committed to pretrial detention. Transferred juveniles, however, were less likely than adult defendants to make bail, thus increasing the likelihood they would experience pretrial detention. Further, the study revealed that being held in pretrial detention was a strong predictor of being sentenced to prison upon conviction. Being in pretrial detention, albeit as a result of not making bail rather than being assessed as dangerous, may create the assumption of dangerousness by sentencers. Transferred juveniles were more likely to be sentenced to prison than the adult defendants. This suggests that transfer in itself may increase sentencers’ perception that the juvenile is dangerous and incapable or being rehabilitated. Unlike the findings of Kurlychek and Johnson, the current study did not find that transfer status interacted with any legal or extralegal factors in disadvantaging defendants at either the pretrial or sentencing stages of case processing. Only the effect of being convicted by a jury trial conditioned the effect of being transferred to criminal court. The effect of a conviction by a jury was weaker for the transferred juveniles than for the young adult defendants. Regarding the influence of county contextual factors on pretrial detention and incarceration, the study found that family disruption in the county may be the most relevant indicator of structural disadvantage that influences pretrial detention and sentencing outcomes. 6 tables and 92 references