Toward Clarification of the Concept of "Minority" Status and Decision-Making in Juvenile Court Proceedings

• NCJ Number: 154880
• Journal: Journal of Crime and Justice Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: (1995) Pages: 79-108
• Author(s): M J Leiber
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 30 pages
• Grant Number(s): 22218; 715-90-RP-01
• Sponsoring Agency: University of Northern Iowa; Iowa Dept of Human Rights
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The goal of this research was to provide further clarity on the possible different effects that legal and extralegal factors, specifically race/ethnicity, may have on juvenile justice decisionmaking.

Abstract

Objectives were to assess the extent to which case outcomes were alike or different for white, African-American, and Latino youth, to identify all case options at the intake stage, and to examine decisionmaking at multiple stages. The research was based on juvenile court referrals in Iowa. Due to the small number of minority youth in Iowa, cases for the study were selected from juvenile court referrals over a 12-year period, 1980-91, from four counties across the State. A random sample of referrals of delinquent cases identified as white (3,437) was selected for the analyses. Disproportionate random sampling was used for African- American youth (2,784), and all cases that involved Latinos referred to juvenile court services during the 12-year period were included in the analyses (350). The total sample numbered 6,571. Although researchers have studied the influence of being a minority youth on juvenile court processing and case outcomes, few have adequately conceptualized and tested for the various effects being Latino may have related to being African-American or white. There has also been a failure to consider all available case outcomes at the stage of intake and decisionmaking across the juvenile justice system. In either situation race/ethnic differences may be obscured or enhanced. Using an interpretation of conflict theory that emphasizes stereotyping upon decisionmaking, the current study found that differences exist in the case processing and outcomes of Latinos, African-Americans, and whites. Separating the outcome of release from diversion and a recommendation for further intervention at intake also provide evidence of race/ethnic differences that may have not been otherwise identified. 4 tables, 8 notes, and 71 references