The impact of waiver to adult court on youths’ perceptions of procedural justice.

Abstract

The current study examined perceptions of fair treatment in a past court experience among a sample of incarcerated youth (n = 364). Perceptions were compared for youth whose cases were processed through the juvenile (n = 261) versus adult court (n = 103) systems. In general, youth who were adjudicated in adult court felt more justly treated by legal authorities than youth adjudicated in juvenile court. Specifically, youth in adult court rated judges as only marginally more just than youth in juvenile court, but rated their defense attorney’s treatment as significantly more just. Youth rated the prosecutor’s treatment as relatively unjust regardless of where their case was handled. Differences in perceptions of procedural justice were also observed based on prior arrest history and race, with minority youth and repeat offenders perceiving the process to be less procedurally just. Our findings should not be used as support for the increased transfer of youth into adult court, as other studies have demonstrated these youth tend to have worse outcomes. However, our findings do suggest that improvements should be made to increase elements of procedural justice in juvenile court settings.

Procedural justice and legal socialization among juvenile offenders: The role of defense attorneys

“…Across these studies, interactions with legal actors generally focus on judges and the police, and there is limited research examining interactions with defense attorneys and views of procedural justice. Exceptions include research by Kaasa et al (2018), who examined perceptions of fairness of court experiences among a sample of incarcerated youth, including juveniles waived to the adult criminal justice system and youth retained in the juvenile justice system. The main difference in procedural justice perceptions was that waived youth rated their defense attorneys as significantly fairer in their treatment than youth whose cases were kept in juvenile court (Kaasa et al, 2018).…”

“…Exceptions include research by Kaasa et al (2018), who examined perceptions of fairness of court experiences among a sample of incarcerated youth, including juveniles waived to the adult criminal justice system and youth retained in the juvenile justice system. The main difference in procedural justice perceptions was that waived youth rated their defense attorneys as significantly fairer in their treatment than youth whose cases were kept in juvenile court (Kaasa et al, 2018). In a recent study, Lee et al (2020) found that attorney satisfaction was related to willingness to accept a plea.…”