Since 1967 the two major reforms of due process and diversion have been implemented by the juvenile justice system. This study subjects these two reforms to an empirical examination designed to answer three questions. (1) What is the influence of selected social and legal factors on juvenile justice decision-making? (2) Does the level of due process in the juvenile justice system influence the disposional pattern? and (3) Does the introduction of a new sentencing alternative (i.e., diversion) influence the disposional pattern in ways intended? / These questions are developed into a series of hypotheses and tested by examining the disposional patterns of four juvenile courts involving a total of 667 youth. The results of the study indicate that social and legal factors are important when considered in relation to the organizational factors of due process and diversion. The age, race, and gender of youth are not strongly associated with the severity of the disposition whereas the reason for referral (seriousness of offense) and the status at time of referral (prior record) are important influences on the dispositional pattern. The level of due process afforded the youth does not strongly influence the disposition whereas the introduction of a new sentencing alternative (i.e., diversion) alters the dispositional pattern, in that certain categories of youth (young, white, female) are disproportionally selected for less severe sanctions. The study concludes by discussing the implications of these findings and suggesting areas and techniques for future research. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-12, Section: A, page: 4050. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75000 |
| Contributors | FULLER, JOHN RANDOLPH., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 218 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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