Juvenile Justice System of the District of Columbia - Flow Chart and Analysis (From Legislative Monitoring - Case Studies From the National Legislature Internship Program, P 109-160, 1980 - See NCJ-72412)

• NCJ Number: 72416
• Author(s): J Fenton
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 52 pages
• Sale Source: Superintendent of Documents, GPO
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. NCJ-72416 available on microfiche as NCJ-72412.

Annotation

This report presents detailed flow charts and a narrative analysis of the District of Columbia juvenile justice system, in order to measure its perations against the standards proposed by the American Bar Association.

Abstract

Juvenile justice system procedures are described in detail, starting with the initial complaint or police contact and ending with termination of a dispositional order. Each procedure is compared with the proposed national standards. It is recommended that the Superior Court's Social Services Division be given nonappealable authority to no-petition any Person in Need of Supervision complaint alleging an offense which, if committed by an adult, would be a misdemeanor. In addition, nonjudicial diversion programs should be favored over petitioning. Moreover, time limits and other specific guidelines for Social Service Division decisions should be established. Furthermore, no children brought to court should be placed in cells unless they are physically uncontrollable. For related case studies, see NCJ 72413-15.