The Effect of Legal and Extralegal Factors on Statutory Exclusion of Juvenile Offenders

• Published in: Youth violence and juvenile justice Vol. 3; no. 3; pp. 214 - 234
• Main Authors: Lemmon, John H., Austin, Thomas L., Verrecchia, P. J., Fetzer, Matthew
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications 01-07-2005; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Correctional treatment programs; Criminal justice; Criminal Justice Policy; Criminal sentences; Deterrence; Implementation; Jurisdiction; Juvenile Courts; Juvenile Justice; Juvenile Offenders; Legislation; Punishment; Restorative justice; Sentencing; Youth; youth violence; deterrence theory; statutory exclusion
• ISSN: 1541-2040; 1556-9330
• DOI: 10.1177/1541204005276263

The study describes implementation of legislation that excludes youth offenders from juvenile court jurisdiction and examines two elements of deterrence theory that underscored the legislation’s rationale. Between-court analyses comparing youths decertified to juvenile court with those remaining in criminal court report no between-court differences concerning the certainty of punishment. Although the criminal court was more likely to impose more severe sentences, controls on legal sentencing factors explained the between-group differences. Legal and extralegal factors predicted the likelihood of certainty and severity of punishment within the juvenile and adult systems respectively. Implications for the restorative justice model are discussed.