NCJ Number
195585
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 91 Issue: 4 Dated: Summer 2001 Pages: 997-1072
Editor(s)
Monika Jain
Date Published
2001
Length
76 pages
Annotation
The article reviews the consequences of the increased use of juvenile court waiver as part of a crime control policy.
Abstract
The article is an exploration of the consequences of the increasing use of adult criminal courts to prosecute violent juvenile offenders, especially minority juvenile offenders. The experience of Hennepin County, Minnesota with the 1995 reform of the Minnesota juvenile waiver law is used as a case study and a vehicle for the discussion. The 1995 waiver law changes had two major aspects: 1) the abandonment of amenability to treatment as a standard for review in favor of public safety criteria as the basis for the decision to transfer; and 2) the extension of great judicial discretion to juvenile court judges allowing them to set extended juvenile dispositions (the Extended Jurisdiction Juvenile Prosecution or EJJ). The article describes the legal framework for EJJ and judicial waiver, prior research on juvenile waiver and its effects, and a comparison of pre EJJ and post EJJ practices for Hennepin County’s relevant juvenile cases. Review of these cases showed an increase in referral to adult courts, especially for minority and female offenders after the implementation of the EJJ program. Additionally, an offender’s age was shown to have substantial impact on the decision to refer outside of the juvenile system with younger children typically referred to treatment intensive juvenile programs regardless of offense history or likelihood of recidivism. 16 tables, 117 notes.