Consistent with virtually all other states in the nation, in the mid-1990s legislation was enacted in Pennsylvania to address increasing concerns about serious and violent juvenile offending. This legislation included provisions for facilitating the transfer of violent juvenile offenders to adult criminal court. The current study examines contemporary practitioner perceptions of juvenile transfer to adult court, with regard to the number of juveniles transferred, the effectiveness of this practice, and the appropriate minimum age for transfer to occur. Utilizing statewide survey data, comparisons are made between juvenile court judges, probation officers, prosecutors, and public defenders, and other predictors are assessed. The findings indicate modest overall support for transferring juveniles to adult court, with various significant differences across practitioner groups. Policy implications are discussed.
Adams, B., & Addie, S. ( 2009). Delinquency cases waived to criminal court (p. 2005Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
2.
Bishop, D.M. ( 2000). Juvenile offenders in the adult criminal justice system . In M. Tonry (Ed.), Crime and justice: A review of research (Vol. 27, pp. 81-167). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
3.
Bishop, D.M., & Frazier, C.E. ( 2000). Consequences of transfer. In J. Fagan & F. Zimring (Eds.), The changing borders of juvenile justice: Transfer of adolescents to the criminal court (pp. 227-276). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
4.
Bishop, D.M., Frazier, C.E., Lanza-Kaduce, L., & Winner, L. ( 1996). The transfer of juveniles to criminal court: Does it make a difference? Crime & Delinquency, 42, 171-191.
5.
Cullen, F.T., Wright, J.P., Brown, S., Moon, M.M., Blankenship, M.B., & Applegate, B.K. (1998). Public support for early intervention programs: Implications for a progressive policy agenda. Crime & Delinquency, 44, 187-204.
6.
DeVellis, R.F. ( 2003). Scale development: Theory and applications (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
7.
DiIulio, J.J. ( 1995). The coming of the super-predators. Weekly Standard, 1, 23-28.
Fagan, J. ( 1995). Separating the men from the boys: The comparative advantage of juvenile versus criminal court sanctions on recidivism among adolescent felony offenders. In J. C. Howell, B. Krisberg, J. D. Hawkins & J. J. Wilson (Eds.), A sourcebook: Serious, violent, & chronic juvenile offenders (pp. 238-260). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
10.
Fagan, J. ( 1996). The comparative advantage of juvenile versus criminal court sanctions on recidivism among adolescent felony offenders. Law and Policy, 18, 77-114.
11.
Fagan, J., & Zimring, F.E. ( 2000). The changing borders of juvenile justice: Transfer of adolescents to the criminal court. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
12.
Farrington, D.P., Ohlin, L., & Wilson, J.Q. ( 1986). Understanding and controlling crime: Toward a new research strategy. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag .
13.
Feiler, S.M., & Sheley, J.F. ( 1999). Legal and racial elements of public willingness to transfer juvenile offenders to adult court. Journal of Criminal Justice , 27, 55-64.
14.
Greenwood, P.W. ( 1995). Juvenile crime and juvenile justice. In J. Q. Wilson & J. Petersilia (Eds.), Crime (pp. 91-117). San Francisco, CA: Institute for Contemporary Studies.
15.
Griffin, P. ( 2003). Trying and sentencing juveniles as adults: An analysis of state transfer and blended sentencing laws. Pittsburgh, PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice.
16.
Griffin, P. ( 2006). Ten years of balanced and restorative justice in Pennsylvania . Pittsburgh, PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice.
17.
Griffin, P. ( 2008). Different from adults: An updated analysis of juvenile transfer and blended sentencing laws, with recommendations for reform. Pittsburgh, PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice .
18.
Griffin, P., Torbet, P., & Szymanski, L. ( 1998). Trying juveniles as adults in criminal court: An analysis of state transfer provisions. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
19.
Howell, J.C. ( 1996). Juvenile transfers to the criminal justice system: State of the art. Law & Policy, 18, 17-60.
Jensen, E.J., & Metsger, L.K. ( 1994). A test of the deterrent effect of legislative waiver on violent juvenile crime. Crime & Delinquency, 40, 96-104.
23.
Jordan, K.L. ( 2006). Violent youth in adult court: The decertification of transferred offenders. New York, NY: LFB Scholarly.
24.
Jordan, K.L., & Myers, D.L. ( 2007). The decertification of transferred youth: Examining the determinants of reverse waiver. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 5, 188-206.
25.
Jordan, K.L., & Myers, D.L. ( 2008). Juvenile transfer and deterrence: Reexamining the effectiveness of a ‘‘gettough’’ policy. Crime & Delinquency. First published on July 11, 2008, doi:10.1177/0011128708319111.
Kupchik, A. ( 2006). Judging juveniles: Prosecuting adolescents in adult and juvenile courts. New York: New York University Press.
28.
Lanza-Kaduce, L., Lane, J., Bishop, D.M., & Frazier, C.E. ( 2005). Juvenile offenders and adult felony recidivism: The impact of transfer. Journal of Crime and Justice, 28, 59-77.
29.
Lee, D.S., & McCrary, J. ( 2005). Crime, punishment, and myopia. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
30.
Levitt, S.D. ( 1998). Juvenile crime and punishment. Journal of Political Economy, 106, 1156-1185.
31.
Lewis-Beck, M.S. ( 1980). Applied regression: An introduction ( Sage University Paper Series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences , No. 07-022). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
32.
Mears, D.P., Hay, C., Gertz, M., & Mancini, C. ( 2007). Public opinion and the foundation of the juvenile court . Criminology, 45, 223-257.
33.
Mears, D.P., Shollenberger, T.L., Willison, J.B., Owens, C.E., & Butts, J.A. ( 2010). Practitioner views of priorities, policies, and practices in juvenile justice. Crime & Delinquency, 56, 535-563.
34.
Meddis, S.V. ( 1993, October 29). Poll: Treat juveniles the same as adult offenders . USA Today, pp. A1, A11.
35.
Moon, M.M., Sundt, J.L., Cullen, F.T., & Wright, J.P. ( 2000). Is child saving dead? Public support for juvenile rehabilitation . Crime & Delinquency, 46, 38-60.
36.
Myers, D.L. ( 2001). Excluding violent youths from juvenile court: The effectiveness of legislative waiver. New York, NY: LFB Scholarly Publishing.
37.
Myers, D.L. ( 2003). The recidivism of violent youths in juvenile and adult court: A consideration of selection bias. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 1, 79-101.
38.
Myers, D.L. ( 2005). Boys among men: Trying and sentencing juveniles as adults . Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers .
39.
Myers, D.L., Giever, D., Lee, D., & Gilliam, J. ( 2008). An evaluation of Pennsylvania’s juvenile prosecution and defense capacity building projects. Retrieved from http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/juvenile_justice/7627
40.
Nagin, D.S., Piquero, A.R., Scott, E.S., & Steinberg, L. ( 2006). Public preferences for rehabilitation versus incarceration of juvenile offenders: Evidence from a contingent valuation survey. Criminology and Public Policy, 5, 627-651.
41.
Neter, J., Wasserman, W., & Kutner, M.H. ( 1989). Applied linear regression models (2nd ed.). Burr Ridge, IL: Richard D. Irwin, Inc.
Podkopacz, M.R., & Feld, B.C. ( 1996). The end of the line: An empirical study of judicial waiver . The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 86, 449-492.
45.
Redding, R.E. ( 2003). The effects of adjudicating and sentencing juveniles as adults. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 1, 128-155.
46.
Redding, R.E. ( 2008). Juvenile transfer laws: An effective deterrent to delinquency?Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
47.
Risler, E.A., Sweatman, T., & Nackerud, L. ( 1998). Evaluating the Georgia legislative waiver’s effectiveness in deterring juvenile crime. Research on Social Work Practice , 8, 657-667.
48.
Sampson, P. ( 1995a, April 2). Bill would expose crimes to media, public. The Sunday Patriot News, A6.
49.
Sampson, P. ( 1995b, October 26). Senate addresses youth crimes: Serious offenses could bring automatic transfer to adult court. The Patriot , B5.
50.
Schwartz, I.M., Guo, S., & Kerbs, J.J. ( 1993). The impact of demographic variables on public opinion regarding juvenile justice: Implications for public policy. Crime & Delinquency, 39, 5-28.
51.
Seyko, R.J. ( 2001). Balanced approach and restorative justice efforts in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The Prison Journal, 81, 187-205.
52.
Singer, S.I. ( 1996). Recriminalizing delinquency: Violent juvenile crime and juvenile justice reform. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
53.
Singer, S.I., & McDowall, D. ( 1988). Criminalizing delinquency: The deterrent effects of the New York juvenile offender law. Law and Society Review, 22, 521-535.
54.
Snyder, H.N., & Sickmund, M. ( 1999). Juvenile offenders and victims: 1999 National Report . Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
55.
Snyder, H.N., & Sickmund, M. ( 2006). Juvenile offenders and victims: 2006 National Report . Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
56.
Snyder, H.N., Sickmund, M., & Poe-Yamagata, E. (2000). Juvenile transfers to criminal court in the 1990s: Lessons learned from four studies. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
57.
Sprott, J.B. ( 1998). Understanding public opposition to a separate youth justice system. Crime & Delinquency, 44, 399-411.
58.
Stanley, B. ( 1996, November 17). States strengthen laws to crack down on juvenile crime: Now it’s easier to try youths as adults across nation; impact unclear. The Sunday Patriot News, p. A,4.
59.
Steiner, B., & Wright, E. ( 2006). Assessing the relative effects of state direct file waiver laws on violent juvenile crime: Deterrence or irrelevance? Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 96, 1451-1477.
60.
Triplett, R. ( 1996). The growing threat: Gangs and juvenile offenders. In T. J. Flanagan & D. R. Longmire (Eds.), Americans view crime and justice: A national public opinion survey. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
61.
Winner, L., Lanza-Kaduce, L., Bishop, D.M., & Frazier, C.E. ( 1997). The transfer of juveniles to criminal court: Reexamining recidivism over the long term. Crime & Delinquency, 43, 548-563.
