Question

Is being waived always more punitive to the juvenile? Discuss

Answer 1

Introduction

The purpose of the current research is to provide an informative summary of the existing literature that examines racial disparity in the transfer of juveniles to criminal court, prosecutorial discretion in the waiver process, and finally, the results of waiving juveniles to adult court.

An in-depth analysis of current waiver processes holds a plethora of potentially important theoretical implications. A reflection on waiver practices could result in the development of more specific guidelines that outline what types of offenders and offenses are appropriate candidates for a waiver and a specification as to the limits of prosecutorial and judicial discretion in the waiver process.  

The aim of this paper is to point out that while racial disparity is evident in the process of waiving juveniles to adult court, it also exists at other points of decision in the juvenile justice system.

Another aim of this paper is to provide policy implications that could help to make the juvenile justice system more equitable and to point to ways in which prosecutorial discretion could be regulated in hopes of greater consistency in the waiver process.

In addition, an examination of the intended goals of waiving juveniles to adult criminal court is also important because these goals should reflect a degree of consistency with the originally intended goals for the juvenile justice system as a whole.

A Brief History of Juvenile Justice Before launching into a discussion of the waiver process and the important issues surrounding the waiver of juveniles to criminal court, a brief description of the goals and history of the juvenile justice system is in order. The premise underlying the creation of the juvenile justice system in America was that of helping children who were found to be