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

圆周率与联合圆周率：Vicki Lens和Stephanie MatSumura标题：博士论文研究：为所有人伸张正义？种族如何影响少年法庭的接纳过程项目摘要本研究将使用混合方法来检验种族是否影响少年法庭的接纳决定。少年法院与成人法院的不同之处在于，将社会福利的要素，特别是康复方面的要素与刑罚问题结合在一起。少年司法系统内的代理人(包括执法人员、收容工作人员、检察官和法官)有权酌情决定什么最符合儿童的利益以及如何处理案件。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起到了指导作用，但类似案件可能会产生不同的结果。研究人员发现，少数族裔青年在少年司法系统中的比例过高。即使被指控犯有相同类型的罪行，少数族裔青年也比白人青年更有可能在少年法庭上受到正式指控。研究设计的第一部分将包括对X国2000-2006年所有少年法庭案件的受理结果进行描述性、多变量和多水平分析的量化分析。该分析将控制既往犯罪、犯罪类型和其他人口统计变量。第二部分包括从对X国接收官员的深入访谈中得出的定性分析。该分析将使用扎根的理论来审查接收官员的自由裁量权做法，并探讨与第一部分中发现的结果有关的社会和组织分支。本研究使用的数据集是独一无二的，以前从未用于审查这一问题，定性研究是原始数据。本研究将通过多层次的分析，对现有文献中种族因素在少年法庭案件处理中的作用做出贡献。这项研究将确定在收容过程中对少数族裔青年的任何差别待遇，可能的原因，并提出将促进所有青年平等待遇的变化建议。

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.