NCJ Number
236858
Editor(s)
Lisa J. Berlin,
Jenni Owen,
Geelea Seaford
Date Published
2007
Length
42 pages
Annotation
This report presents briefing papers for the March 20, 2007, North Carolina Family Impact Seminar, which considered whether 16- and 17-year-olds charged with a crime should be prosecuted in juvenile or adult court.
Abstract
Since the beginning of State-level Family Impact Seminars in 1993, just over 20 States across the country have convened such seminars, which are State-based forums for providing objective, nonpartisan, research-based strategies to State policymakers, including legislators, legislative and gubernatorial staff, and officials in State agencies. The background for North Carolina's 2007 seminar stemmed from this State being one of three States at the time that prosecuted 16- and 17-years-olds in adult criminal court. This report consists of five briefs. Brief 1 explains how the current North Carolina juvenile justice system works, presents recent North Carolina juvenile justice statistics, and provides information on programs and facilities for adolescent offenders in North Carolina and other States. Brief 2 reviews research on youth development, with attention to three issues central to policies for adolescent offenders: blameworthiness, competence to stand trial, and the potential for an adolescent's character to change. Brief 3 presents information on how other States process and manage adolescent offenders. Brief 4 reviews and discusses research on how juvenile crime rates are impacted by changes in punishment laws. Brief 5 presents three policy options and a series of issues for further consideration. The report contains a glossary, a list of acronyms, a list of additional resources, and a chart of the current legal age in North Carolina for various activities.