Statistics consistently show that minorities are overrepresented at each level of the juvenile justice system. However, while Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) in the juvenile justice system is well documented, the cause is still unclear. Some have suggested that DMC is simply the result of disproportionate amounts of crime committed by minority youth, while others claim that racism, be it overt, subtle, individual or institutional, plays a significant role in DMC. Observation of juvenile court proceedings and interviews with juvenile court judges and lawyers, each coded for content analysis, were used to determine the effects of race in juvenile court decision making. In this research, I suggest that race plays a significant, yet subtle role as personal beliefs, political necessities and motives of both professional participants in the system and political and community civic leaders, result in racial stratification established within a racialized social framework.

Statistics consistently show that minorities are overrepresented at each level of the juvenile justice system. However, while Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) in the juvenile justice system is well documented, the cause is still unclear. Some have suggested that DMC is simply the result of disproportionate amounts of crime committed by minority youth, while others claim that racism, be it overt, subtle, individual or institutional, plays a significant role in DMC. Observation of juvenile court proceedings and interviews with juvenile court judges and lawyers, each coded for content analysis, were used to determine the effects of race in juvenile court decision making. In this research, I suggest that race plays a significant, yet subtle role as personal beliefs, political necessities and motives of both professional participants in the system and political and community civic leaders, result in racial stratification established within a racialized social framework.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / W. Richard Goe / At each milestone of its development, advocates of the juvenile court have repeatedly and rightly recognized the court for what it is: a powerful instrument affecting the normal development of youth. The juvenile court is a social institution organized to achieve certain values. At its most mundane, it ensures that certain practices and beliefs actually exist somewhere in the world. At its most grandiose, it imprints these behaviors and thoughts on those involved, extending its locus of influence and transforming society itself. Because of its potential to transform people’s lives, it is important to understand the circumstances under which the juvenile court more regularly and, perhaps more zealously, reinforces what people can and cannot do. To understand social control and the juvenile court, court case records were drawn from a large, Midwestern Juvenile Court filed between January 1st, 2012 and December 31st, 2016. These records were obtained using the juvenile court’s Justice Information Leveraging System, an online, real-time court records management system available to the public. Drawing a random sample of juvenile court cases (N=582), the present study examines the effects of demeanor, context, race, social class, and gender on court imposed social control. Controlling for alternative explanations (i.e., prior involvement, offense severity, judge idiosyncrasies, and age), the present study shows that demeanor, context and race, as well as demeanor and gender affect decisions made during the juvenile court process. Among cases involving youth whose contexts were criminogenic, minority youth, more than white youth, were more likely to be detained prior to adjudication. Additionally, the effect of demeanor on disposition length among cases involving girls was greater than that observed among boys. Lastly, cases involving youth whose demeanors were disagreeable, were more likely to be detained and to receive dispositions that were longer and more severe than cases involving youth whose demeanors were agreeable. Notably, sufficient evidence was observed of effects involving offense severity and prior record on social control. Cases involving youth charged with a felony were, more than cases involving youth charged only with misdemeanors, more likely to be detained, disposed to a more severe intervention, and disposed for a longer period of time. Cases involving youth with more involved prior records generally received greater social control, particularly regarding detention and disposition length. However, mixed results were observed regarding adjudication and disposition severity. Sufficient evidence was observed to suggest that not all youth received a “first-timer discount” at adjudication. Likewise, first-timers were, compared to those with a history of court involvement (but not adjudication), more likely to receive some form of court intervention. These findings suggest new directions for juvenile court policy and practice. The juvenile court should investigate racial and gender disparity in what it does. It is possible that mundane, unintentional practices reinforce disparate social arrangements. Additionally, the court should reassess it reliance on “Just Deserts” and other graduated forms of intervention. As the latest research on adolescent development suggests (Steinberg 2007), youth are not adults, and, as such, should not be judge by adult standards.

Research on the efficacy of drug courts for substance-abusing criminal adult offenders has generally found reduced recidivism rates, and both actual and potential cost savings to the public. However , outcome research on juvenile drug courts has been limited. Furthermore , little research has examined variables that may be predictive of outcome in this population. This study reports graduation and rearrest rates for a sample of juvenile drug court participants in Salt Lake City, Utah. Also, this research assessed whether demographics, prior arrest history, attendance at drug education classes, serving detention time, or a preprogram measure of degree of substance abuse (SAS SI-A) help predict several important outcomes (i.e., graduation from the drug court program and number of rearrests per year after leaving drug court). The graduation rate in this sample was fairly high (84.2%). However, the rearrest rate was also relatively high, with slightly over 50% with an arrest for any offense, and 38. 7% with a drug-elated arrest during follow-up (average follow-up time 4.3 years). Serving detention and not attending prevention class predicted lower rates of program graduation, while younger age, male gender, not graduating drug court, non-Caucasian status, and past adjudication predicted higher rates of recidivism (rearrest).

The issue of juvenile criminal justice The topic of my Master's degree thesis is "The issue of criminal juvenile justice". It is focused on the area of unlawful acts of youth and children under fifteen years old. I have decided to focus on this area as it of a great interest to me. My Master's degree thesis is devided into five chapters and further split into subsections. In my thesis I have analyzed possible issues of corrective measures and their effectiveness. The main focus of my thesis is juridical and minor part is also devoted to criminal aspects of youth deliquency. I have accompanied my thesis with appropriate jurisprudence and real life examples. In the introductory chapter I have provided basic facts of the youth criminal acts, focusing mainly in the criminal aspects of the characteristic conducts and behaviors. The following chapter is focused on the historic development of the criminal jurisdiction of the youth deliquency on the territory of the Czech republic with the applicable Law No. 218/2003 Coll. Furthermore, this chapter is providing additional details for issuance of the separate legal act on the youth deliquency and comparison of this act with simile legal acts in the other countries. The third chapter is deep diving into the area of the legal accountability of youth people....

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ABSTRACT RESTORATIVE DISCIPLINE AS AN ALTERNATE TO RETRIBUTIVE DISCIPLINE WITHIN THE JUVENILE COURT SYSTEM: AN ANALYSIS OF THE METRO COUNTY JUVENILE COURT COMMUNITY RESTORATIVE BOARD by Ajamu A. Banjoko Giroux (2003) indicated that the prison industry has become a major economic industry with many states spending more money on prison reforms than on educational reforms. Juvenile delinquent behavior should be punished but fair treatment and equal rights for all human beings under the rule of law is paramount to punishment. Casella (2001) indicated that the prison population has sky-rocketed, and by 1995 forty-eight states passed laws to facilitate the prosecution of juveniles as adults and therefore children are placed in adult prisons where they are at a higher risk of not only attack and rape, but of suicide. The research established a rationale for restorative justice discipline as an alternate to punitive retributive discipline in order to potentially decrease the number of youth offenders facing incarceration. Crime control is the responsibility of all citizens not just the government and this responsibility reflects the foundational tenets of restorative justice. Bazemore and Umbreit (1995) suggested that restorative justice is not an alternative to punishment it is an alternate punishment to bad or unwanted behavior. A qualitative case study was used to analyze and explore the disciplinary functions and procedures of the Metro County Juvenile Court Community Restorative Boards. The perceptions of two board members and three juvenile court officials was analyzed in an effort to better understand how and why Community Restorative Boards implement restorative justice discipline toward youth offenders. Data were gathered through narrative interviews and participatory observations in order to better understand the emerging phenomenon of restorative discipline within the juvenile justice system as an alternate to punitive retributive discipline. The study analyzed the dynamics of the school to prison pipeline through zero tolerance school policies, examined the juvenile justice system and the sentencing of youth offenders in criminal court. The study also examined the usage of traditional retributive discipline and restorative discipline within the juvenile court system. The study provided empirical data that support the infusion of a complimentary or supplementary restorative justice disciplinary approach toward adjudicating youth offenders within the juvenile court system. Bazemore and Umbreit (1995) suggested that utilizing a restorative justice disciplinary model increases the opportunity for young people to be held accountable for their misbehavior by actively participating in the process of establishing consequences to help repair the harm that they have caused to an individual, the community, and themselves.

The topic of my Master's degree thesis is "The issue of criminal juvenile justice". It is focused on the area of unlawful acts of youth and children under fifteen years old. I chosed this topic because of my interest in this area. The main focus of my thesis is juridical, and minor part is also devoted to criminal aspects. I focus mainly on the sanctions. Thesis is divided into seven chapters and further split into subsections. In the first chapter I describe basic facts of the youth criminal acts. I'm focusing mainly in the characteristic criminal conducts and behaviors. The following chapter is focused on Juvenile criminal justice and mainly Law No. 218/2003 Coll. It deal with the purpose of the law and the basic concepts. The third chapter describe the area of the legal accountability of youth people, it means the question of legal accountability and moral and intellectual maturity. It deals with issue of insanity and age limit for criminal accountability of youth. In the fourth chapter I have focused on the termination of criminal liability, active repentance and the Limitation of the law. The fifth chapter is focused on the analysis of measures and their deficiency. This chapter represents the core part of the thesis. In sixth chapter I deal with the question of specific forms of criminal...

The current research study examines the relationship between race, ethnicity, and offense type on three stages of juvenile court outcomes (i.e., petition, adjudication, and disposition). In the past, research has focused on the prevalence of disproportionate minority contact, especially when it comes to disparities found in sanctioning outcomes of Black and White juveniles. However, prior research included Hispanic youth, despite being one of the largest growing ethnicity groups in the United States. The current study also examines whether juveniles charged with drug offenses are treated more severely when compared to juveniles charged with a person, property, and other offenses, to investigate the possible continuance of the War on Drugs and the effect it may have on the juvenile justice system. Through various logistic regression models based on data from a Northeastern state from the years 2004-2014, the study confirmed disparities among the court outcomes for White, Black, and Hispanic juveniles. Differences were also found when looking at juveniles charged with drug offenses versus those charged with a person, property, and other offenses. Last, the race and ethnicity of the juvenile charged with a drug offense also influenced juvenile court outcomes. Further research into the impact of race, ethnicity, and offense type on court processing is necessary to shape policy and programs to better ensure fair and equal treatment in the juvenile justice system.

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