Doctoral Dissertation Research: Justice for All? How Race Influences the Intake Process in Juvenile Court

PI和Co-PI: Vicki Lens和Stephanie matsumura题目：博士论文研究：正义为所有？项目摘要本研究将采用混合方法研究种族是否影响少年法庭的收押决定。少年法庭与成人法庭的不同之处在于，它将社会福利因素，特别是康复方面的因素与刑事问题结合起来。少年司法系统内的代理人（包括执法人员、接收工作人员、检察官和法官）被赋予自由裁量权，以决定什么对儿童最有利，以及如何处理案件。有几个关键的“决策点”决定了案件将如何处理。虽然某些程序和法律标准可以作为指导方针，但类似的案件可能会产生不同的结果。研究人员发现，青少年司法系统中少数族裔青少年的比例过高。即使被指控犯有同样的罪行，少数族裔青年也比白人青年更有可能在少年法庭被正式起诉。研究设计的第一部分将包括定量分析，对2000-2006年X州所有少年法庭案件的接收结果进行描述性、多变量和多层次分析。分析将控制犯罪前科、犯罪类型和其他人口统计变量。第二部分包括从对x州收容官员的深度访谈中得出的定性分析。该分析将使用有根据的理论来检查收容官员的自由裁量做法，并探索与第一部分中发现的结果相关的社会和组织后果。本研究中使用的数据集是独一无二的，以前从未用于检查此问题，定性研究是原始数据。本研究将提供一个多层次的分析，以补充现有文献关于种族对少年法庭案件处理的影响。这项研究将确定在接受过程中对少数民族青年的任何差别待遇，可能的原因，并提出改变建议，以促进对所有青年的平等待遇。

PI and Co-PI: Vicki Lens and Stephanie MatsumuraTitle: Doctoral Dissertation Research: Justice for All? How Race Influences the Intake Process in Juvenile Court0752232Project AbstractThe study will use a mixed method approach to examine if race affects intake decisions in juvenile court. Juvenile courts differ from adult courts by combining elements of social welfare, particularly rehabilitative aspects, with penal concerns. The agents within the juvenile justice system (including law enforcement, intake workers, prosecutors, and judges) are empowered with the discretion to decide what is in the best interest of the child and how a case will be handled. There are several key "decision-points" that determine how a case will be processed. While certain procedural and legal standards serve as guidelines, it is possible that similar cases may have different outcomes. Researchers have found overrepresentation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system. Even when charged for the same type of offense, minority youth are more likely to be formally charged in juvenile court than white youth. Part I of the research design will include a quantitative analysis that uses descriptive, multivariate, and multilevel analyses of the intake outcomes of all juvenile court cases in State X from 2000-2006. The analysis will control for prior offenses, the type of offense, and other demographic variables. Part II includes a qualitative analysis drawn from in-depth interviews with intake officers in State X. The analysis will use a grounded theory to examine the discretionary practices of intake officers and explores the social and organizational ramifications relating to the results found in Part I. The dataset utilized in this study is unique and has not been previously used to examine this issue and the qualitative research is original data. This study will contribute to the existing literature regarding the effect of race in the case processing of juvenile court cases by providing a multi-level analysis. The research will identify any differential treatment of minority youth in the intake process, the possible causes, and suggest change that will promote equal treatment for all youth.