The Influence of Race in Juvenile Justice Processing

Abstract

This article examines the effect of defendant's race on juvenile justice processing in a large southern state. The study traces the movement of a cohort of over 50,000 youths through multiple decision-making stages from intake screening to judicial disposition. After controlling for legal and processing variables in multivariate analyses, we find that race has a direct effect on decisions made at several processing junctures. Indirect and cumulative effects of race are also addressed and implications for future research explored.