The Probation Officer's Perception of the Attorney's Role in Juvenile Court

Abstract

The Gault decision has resulted in the widespread use of at torneys in juvenile court. The purpose of this study was to ex amine the impact of this change on a group of thirty-two juvenile probation officers who had attended special institutes related to the lawyer's entrance into juvenile court. Their perceptions of counsel's role were conceptualized within the framework of (1) the nature of the attorney's participation in juvenile court, (2) the effects of the attorney's involvement, (3) perceived conflict between the lawyer and the juvenile officer, and (4) resolution of conflicts. Several attitudinal-type statements were included under each of these main areas to operationalize the juvenile officers' responses.