Major Issues in Juvenile Justice Information and Training Youth in Adult Courts - Between Two Worlds - Southeast Region

• NCJ Number: 80828
• Author(s): D M Hamparian; L K Estep; S M Muntean; R R Priestino; R G Swisher; P L Wallace; J L White
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 249 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78-JN-AX-0038
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Corporate Author: Academy for Contemporary Problems
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: One of six volumes

Annotation

State profiles on youth in adult courts are presented for Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Abstract

For this study, juveniles were defined as persons under 18 years-old. The methodology for collecting survey data is described for each State, followed by a description of the process by which youths are referred to adult courts and what can happen to them after conviction. Included in this section of each profile are descriptions of (1) court organization, (2) the pertinent statutory provisions in the State code, (3) the relevant cases tried in the State supreme court and the Federal courts since 1950, and (4) the correctional placement options for juveniles convicted in adult courts. This information was generally obtained through a search of the statutes and case law, along with telephone interviews with court and corrections officials. The second part of each profile presents county data on the frequency of referral of youths to adult courts for each of the mechanisms permitted by State law. In addition, demographic and offense characteristics and the judgments and sentences received by these youths are described for at least 10 percent of the counties (the most populous) and counties referring five or more juveniles to adult courts in 1978. For the overall study, see NCJ 80823. (Author summary modified)