NCJ Number
161584
Journal
Law and Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: (December 1995) Pages: 73-178
Date Published
1995
Length
106 pages
Annotation
This article analyzes judicial waiver policies and processes based on data from Hennepin County, Minn.
Abstract
Part I analyzes the legal framework and prior research on judicial waiver practices; summarizes recent legislative changes in Minnesota's judicial waiver statutes; and examines the implications of youth crime, violence, and race on waiver policy. In Part II the authors present data from Hennepin County and analyze the judicial application of the legislative criteria for adulthood. The data analyses identify the offender and offense variables that affected 330 judicial transfer decisions between 1986 and 1992. In addition to analyzing the factors that influence transfer decisions, the authors also explore the judicial waiver process itself. The study assesses the timing of the process, the role of clinical assessments, and the ways in which judicial practices affect transfer decisions. Finally, the study examines the subsequent juvenile or criminal court processing, sentencing, and recidivism of youths against whom prosecutors filed waiver motions. Throughout the analyses, the study assesses the ways in which a youth's race and offense interact in the waiver process. Findings show that the apparent racial disparities in judicial waiver administration stem from significant differences in the types of offenses with which prosecutors charge minority and white youths, rather than from discriminatory decisionmaking once they are charged. Most differences in waiver administration result from the way the juvenile court processes violent and property offenses, regardless of race. 261 footnotes