NCJ Number
219334
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice Volume: 49 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2007 Pages: 231-260
Date Published
April 2007
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This Canadian study examined the involvement of youths' parents in youth court proceedings at bail and sentencing, with attention to how often parents were present at the hearings, how involved parents were during court proceedings, the nature of their involvement, and whether or not parental involvement had any effect on the outcome of bail and sentencing hearings.
Abstract
The study found that youths' parents were present at the majority of bail and sentencing hearings; however, the presence of parents did not have a significant impact on the outcome of a case, except in providing information on living arrangements for a youth and supervision during release on bail. Given the centrality of legal factors in bail and sentencing decisions, particularly the youth's prior record, the limited impact of parental involvement was not unexpected. Canada's governing legislation at the time of this study featured parental involvement as important for youth in the justice system. This study concludes, however, that parents were little more than bystanders in their youths' bail and sentencing proceedings. This suggests that there is no meaningful structure for parents' participation in these proceedings; and judicial decisionmakers do not have decisionmaking criteria that give significant weight to the quality and characteristics of parental involvement. From June to the end of August 1997, the author and a research assistant observed bail and sentencing hearings at four different youth courts in the Toronto area. A total of 118 bail and 84 sentencing hearings were observed. Data were collected through convenience sampling in which the observed cases were coded if there was an outcome (bail denied or granted or a sentencing outcome). For each case, data addressed demographics, legal factors, social factors, and personal characteristics.