Despite indications of its existence, plea bargaining in juvenile court remains largely unexplored. Despite the absence of research, numerous state legislatures and national commissions have formulated divergent positions regarding juvenile court plea negotiation. This article presents the results of interviews conducted with 100 workers from three juvenile courts. The data suggest that caution should be exercised in accepting conclusions that have been drawn concerning plea bargaining in juvenile court and that some policy decisions in this area are unnecessary and possibly even harmful to juvenile court operations.
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