Although research has examined the effectiveness of juvenile transfer on recidivism, there has been a lack of research done in assessing how well juvenile waiver to adult court meets the criteria necessary for deterrence to occur (i.e., certainty, severity, and swiftness of punishment). The purpose of this study is to assess how well juvenile…

Research examining disparities in sentencing outcomes under federal sentencing guidelines has focused almost exclusively on aggregate national data. Although these studies contribute considerably to the criminological literature on sentencing disparity, their findings may have masked contextual variation in relation to case processing across…

This article traces the historical coverage of the gender issue in the criminological literature. It also provides contemporary empirical evidence about differences and similarities between girls and boys with respect to juvenile crime and to processing by the juvenile justice system, by analyzing several national juvenile crime data series, all…

Judicial sanctions are used by drug courts to encourage clients to comply with program requirements. However, few studies have explored the application of sanctions in drug courts or the relationship between sanctions and drug court graduation. This article reports the results of a study of sanctions as applied in a drug court in southwest…

It is assumed that legitimacy of the legal system is important, yet almost nothing is known about how young offenders view this institution. A sample of youths were interviewed at their first appearance in court and asked about their feelings regarding how they have been treated (procedural justice) by their lawyer, by the crown attorney, and by…

Methamphetamine use was historically a problem facing Western states; however, in recent years it has methodically spread throughout the nation. Methamphetamine use impacts communities, families, and the criminal justice system in a variety of ways. As such, many jurisdictions are developing policies to reduce the sale and consumption of this drug…

Over the past few decades, various forms of waiver have become increasingly used at the state level. Generally, the research literature has focused on three types of waiver: judicial, prosecutorial, and legislative. Reverse waiver, a fourth type, remains little studied. Moreover, little is known of the factors that judges consider when making the…

Are people dissatisfied with the courts as well as the police when they perceive high levels of disorder in their neighborhoods? Consistent with previous research, this study, using a representative sample of Canadian adults, demonstrates that people are significantly more negative about the police when they perceive high levels of disorder. They…

This article reports outcomes from a program of experimental research evaluating the risk principle in drug courts. Prior studies revealed that participants who were high risk and had (a) antisocial personality disorder or (b) a prior history of drug abuse treatment performed better in drug court when scheduled to attend biweekly judicial status…

The drug court model assumes that most drug offenders are addicts, and that drug use fuels other criminal activity. As a result, drug court clients must satisfy an intensive regimen of treatment and supervisory obligations. However, research suggests that roughly one third of drug court clients do not have a clinically significant substance use…

Through fieldwork and in-depth interviews examining the careers of adolescent girls in the juvenile justice system, this article reveals some of the interaction processes by which challenges to parental authority may facilitate contact, entry, and movement through the system. Parents or guardians act as informal agents of control until a breakdown…

Prior studies of juvenile drug courts have been constrained by small samples, inadequate comparison groups, or limited outcome measures. The authors report on a 3-year evaluation that examines the impact of juvenile drug court participation on recidivism and drug use. A quasi-experimental design is used to compare juveniles assigned to drug court…

Researchers examining court dispositions and domestic violence recidivism have argued that disposition effectiveness varies by offender characteristics. We extended this research with analyses of 3,662 persons arrested for misdemeanor assaults on intimates in Hamilton County, Ohio. The incidence, prevalence, and time to rearrest are examined for…