ARE JUVENILES TREATED DIFFERENTLY? EXAMINING CHARGE BARGAINS AMONG TRANSFERRED JUVENILES IN ADULT COURT
ARE JUVENILES TREATED DIFFERENTLY? EXAMINING CHARGE BARGAINS AMONG TRANSFERRED JUVENILES IN ADULT COURT
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Date
2022
Authors
Manley, Melissa
Advisor
Johnson, Brian
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Abstract
Prior research has investigated the treatment of transferred juveniles in adultcourt compared to similar young adults, showing that youth may receive harsher
penalties; however, relatively little work has explored the impact of prosecutorial
decision-making. In attempts to address this issue, the current study uses data from
large urban counties to examine the prevalence of charge reductions and the value
of those decisions among a waived juvenile sample. Guided by several theoretical
frameworks, I argue that transferred youth would be viewed differently by
prosecutors, thus impacting their decisions. Findings show that transferred youth are
less likely to receive a charge reduction compared to young adults and the value of
the charge reductions, in terms of likelihood of incarceration, differs between the
populations. Additionally, type of waiver mechanism also impacts the prevalence
among the transferred juveniles. These results suggest that youth in adult court are
potentially subjected to differential treatment from these court actors, thus affecting
case outcomes.