NCJ Number
165773
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 48 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1997) Pages: 43-51
Date Published
1997
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether there is racial bias in decisionmaking at three stages of juvenile justice processing: detention, adjudication, and disposition.
Abstract
Data were obtained from juvenile cases reported to the Ohio trial court in 1989. A total of 2,334 court cases were randomly sampled from 17 Ohio counties. The independent variables examined in the study included demographic, social, and legal variables. Descriptive statistics and zero-order correlations were used to present the nature of each predictor and relationship among all variables. Because each dependent variable is dichotomized, logistic regression was used in predicting the odds of being detained, adjudicated, and confined. All independent and control variables were entered in the equation to examine the existence of racial differential in the three stages of case processing. Because of the sequence of case processing, detention status was treated as a predictor for the adjudication and disposition decisions. Findings show a differential treatment of minority (nonwhite) juveniles at the detention stage. Further, detention status was also found to have an increasing impact at the two subsequent decision points; detained juveniles were more likely to be adjudicated and confined than undetained youths. 3 tables and 24 references