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Article 1. Assessing the Legitimacy of Competence to Stand Trial in Juvenile Court: The Practice of CST With and Without Statutory Law

Abstract: The requirement that juveniles be competent to stand trial prior to adjudication in juvenile court has only recently been solidified via case law and/or statutory law. It is currently unclear as to whether and how the presence of a specific juvenile competency to stand trial (CST) statute affects how court actors understand and make use of CST in a juvenile court context. Through interviews with 48 juvenile court officials across two states and three juvenile court jurisdictions, we find that the presence or absence of specific juvenile CST guidelines differentially shapes court officials’ perceptions of the legitimacy of CST concerns and consequently, their case processing strategies and decisions. This exploratory study serves to critically question the role of this new due process protection in a juvenile court context that presumes youthfulness or immaturity of offenders.

Article 2: Gender, Race, and Juvenile Court Outcomes: An Examination of Status Offenders                           

Abstract: The intersectionality perspective suggests that the treatment of females and minority youth may be based on one’s social location in terms of oppression and privilege. Applying this perspective to juvenile court outcomes and based on prior research, the current study attempts to understand the individual and joint effects of gender and race on the treatment of status offenders at two decision-making stages of the juvenile justice system. Results from juvenile court referrals in two mid-Atlantic states indicate that gender and race, both individually and in combination, impact case outcomes in terms of both severity and leniency. While results are not always in the anticipated direction, the findings reveal that gender and race still matter in the decision to receive a court referral at intake and whether to adjudicate status offenders.

Article 3: Pathways Through the Juvenile Justice System: Predictors of Formal Disposition

Abstract: Previous scholarship on juvenile case dispositions has suggested a complex relationship between legal and extra-legal factors. Previous studies, however, have suffered from methodological limitations of cross-sectional data that potentially overstated the salience of extra-legal factors. This study addressed that limitation using longitudinal case-management system data from a large southern state. The findings suggested a distinction between the first referral and subsequent referrals. Extra-legal factors, such as age, gender, and race, contributed to formal case disposition in the first referral, but waned in referrals two through six. Legal factors significantly and robustly predicted formal case disposition in the first and subsequent referrals. Felony offense significantly increased the likelihood of a formal disposition across all referrals and previous case disposition significantly increased the likelihood of formal disposition in subsequent referrals. Concluding remarks focus on implications and future research.