SPECIALIZED JUVENILE COURTS: DO THEY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN JUDICIAL DECISION MAKING?

ABSTRACT

This research examines the differences in adjudication (delinquent/status offender or dismissal) and dispositions (transfer of custody or not transfer of custody) of specialized juvenile courts compared to courts of mixed jurisdiction hearing cases involving juvenile defendants. The data are from juvenile court records of the state of Nebraska for 1988 through 1993. The study uses logistic regression to examine the differences in the behavior of the types of courts while controlling for extralegal and legal characteristics of the defendants, as well as county environmental characteristics of the two types of courts. The authors found statistically significant differences in the adjudication decisions, with mixed jurisdiction courts more likely to adjudicate delinquent but not in the final dispositions of the two kind of courts. The findings are discussed within the framework of the parens patriae philosophy.