NCJ Number
82750
Editor(s)
J Hendryx,
J A Ito
Date Published
Unknown
Length
414 pages
Annotation
The report presents results of a 2-year study of the structural characteristics, policies, and operational procedures of 150 metropolitan juvenile courts in 39 States and the District of Columbia. The aim is to determine whether juvenile courts must abandon rehabilitative goals to ensure due process for youths.
Abstract
Data on court characteristics were gathered through a mail and telephone survey of key personnel (judges, probation officers, court services administrators) in a sample of metropolitan juvenile courts. Analysis suggests a number of changes 10 years after the landmark In re Gault decision and after passage of the 1974 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. This act created incentives for standardization, diversion, and deinstitutionalization. The findings suggest that any study of juvenile court decisionmaking must take courts' structural variations into consideration. Juvenile courts can be structured to accommodate due process requirements without sacrificing their rehabilitative mandate. The evidence suggests that many courts have adapted to the Gault mandates without relinquishing their traditional treatment orientation. They formalize the triage process at the intake point, with major delinquency and all contested petitions automatically receiving procedural guarantees, while minor offenses and status offenses -those in danger of incarceration -- are handled by more informal mechanisms. Results of the pilot study suggest that the type of court affects outcomes of cases and that the intake structure is the critical variable. These findings require further testing with a larger sample of courts. Tables, figures, notes, and about 130 references are included. A codebook, a glossary, and responses to the survey are appended.