No open-access location is known for this record yet.
No open-access location is known for this record yet.
This research was supported by funds from the McNair Scholars Program at the University of Central MissouriIntroductionSince its inception in 1899, the juvenile justice system has been plagued by public reaction to juvenile delinquency and criticism over its tactics and philosophy. One of the latest practices to come under fire is the transfer of juvenile offenders to the adult criminal court. Recent Supreme Court decisions in Roper v. Simmons (2005), Graham v. Florida (2010) and Miller v. Alabama (2012) have highlighted the controversial nature of the practice and a movement toward less punitive policies for young offenders. Evidence has surfaced that juveniles are truly different from adults because of key brain function development, as well as evidence that transfer laws are not effective nor a deterrent (Arya & Augarton, 2008; Griffin, 2008). In addition, a substantial amount of literature documents that minorities are disproportionately affected by such laws (Poe-Yamagata & Jones, 2000).These issues are far-reaching and certainly of great concern, but two specific issues regarding the juveniles themselves highlight the importance of this topic. First, juveniles transferred to the adult system are typically seen as the offenders. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), in 2005, courts in the U.S. with juvenile jurisdiction handled 1.7 million delinquency cases (Adams & Addie, 2009). More than half (56%) of these cases were handled formally, meaning a petition was filed and either adjudication or a waiver hearing was requested (Adams & Addie, 2010). These proportions have remained fairly steady for the last few years (Adams & Addie, 2010). However, less than 1% of petitioned juvenile cases in the U.S. were judicially waived to be tried in the adult criminal court system. It would be easy to assume that this small percentage of youth waived to the adult system is made up of juveniles who are the worst violent or chronic offenders.Second, it is not the transfer to the adult system in and of itself, but the possible sentencing to an adult correctional facility that poses the most risk. Once convicted and sentenced in adult court, often the only placement available is an adult jail or prison which can be extremely detrimental to youth. In 2005, 21% of all substantiated inmate-to- inmate sexual assault victims were youth under agel8; in addition, youth under age 18 are 36 times more likely to commit suicide in adult jail than in a juvenile detention facility (Arya, Ryan, Sandoval, & Kudma, 2007). Given the serious offenders and offenses that may be involved, as well as the consequences of transferring juveniles to the criminal justice system, it is important to assess which factors are influencing these decisions. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a research study conducted in a large Midwestern jurisdiction that sought to identify the variables that predict transfer decisions. Information regarding the types of waiver and key statistics on trends in transfer procedure will be presented, followed by the methodology, results of the present study, and the conclusions and policy recommendations.Types of WaiverThere are three ways that a juvenile can be waived to adult criminal court: judicial waiver, prosecutorial waiver, or legislative waiver. Waiver provisions differ from state to state in the degree of decision-making flexibility allowed to the courts. Some states make the waiver decision entirely discretionary. Others set up a presumption in favor of waiver, and still others specify circumstances under which waiver is mandatory (Griffin, Torbet & Szymanski, 1998).Judicial waivers may be discretionary, presumptive, or mandatory. Discretionary waivers rely on an individualized assessment of the case by a juvenile court judge to determine if the juvenile meets minimum waiver criteria (Griffin, 2008). …
Loading…
Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.