Description
In light of California’s passage of Proposition 57 in 2016, the present study examines the relationship between legal/demographic variables and decisions to transfer juveniles to the adult court system. The goal of Proposition 57 was to increase the possibility of rehabilitation for youth by no longer leaving transfer decisions to the sole discretion of the prosecution but instead to entrust it to judges. We used a sample of 118 reports written by forensic psychologists on behalf of the defense examining the life circumstances of minors who allegedly committed serious crimes. Utilizing regression analysis, we found that close to two-thirds of minors were kept in the juvenile system whereas the rest were transferred. Minors with at least one murder charge were more likely to end up in adult court in comparison to minors who were not charged with homicide. We found no support of racial bias in transfer decisions but an overall considerable underrepresentation of whites in contrast to an overrepresentation of black and Latino juveniles in our limited data set.
Investigating the Relationship Between Legal/Demographic Factors and Decisions to Transfer Minors to Adult Court -- An Update
In light of California’s passage of Proposition 57 in 2016, the present study examines the relationship between legal/demographic variables and decisions to transfer juveniles to the adult court system. The goal of Proposition 57 was to increase the possibility of rehabilitation for youth by no longer leaving transfer decisions to the sole discretion of the prosecution but instead to entrust it to judges. We used a sample of 118 reports written by forensic psychologists on behalf of the defense examining the life circumstances of minors who allegedly committed serious crimes. Utilizing regression analysis, we found that close to two-thirds of minors were kept in the juvenile system whereas the rest were transferred. Minors with at least one murder charge were more likely to end up in adult court in comparison to minors who were not charged with homicide. We found no support of racial bias in transfer decisions but an overall considerable underrepresentation of whites in contrast to an overrepresentation of black and Latino juveniles in our limited data set.