Serving the Best Interests of the Child? Judicial Decision Making Regarding Pre-Trial Detention in the Dutch Juvenile Justice System

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannick N. van den Brink
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Judicial Decision ◽  
Judicial Decision Making

The judicial pursuit of the sexual victimization of children

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-144
Author(s):  
Josep M Tamarit Sumalla ◽  
Mª Jesús Guardiola Lago ◽  
Albert Padró-Solanet ◽  
Patricia Hernández-Hidalgo
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Judicial Decision ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Judicial Decision Making ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Low Rate

This article analyses the criminal justice system’s treatment of those sexual offences against children of which it is made aware. The findings reported in this article draw on a quantitative study based on data ( n = 97) taken from judicial files from a province of Catalonia, Spain. The study examines prosecution, trial and conviction rates, analysing the possible variables involved to provide a better understanding of the reasons behind the successful prosecution of complaints made. The study points to a low rate of prosecution, similar to other studies carried out in English-speaking countries. This leads us to conclude that differences in legal systems do not give rise to significant differences in dealing with cases. There is no evidence that a legalistic system such as that of Spain acts as a restraining element against the influence of non-legal factors in the judicial decision-making process. However, similarities with other studies are not found with regards to some factors associated with it. The findings provide no confirmation of the hypothesis that the Spanish criminal justice system is particularly reluctant to prosecute cases of intrafamilial victimization.

Contexts of Decision Making in the Juvenile Justice System: An Organizational Approach to Understanding Minority Overrepresentation

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna M. Bishop ◽  
Michael Leiber ◽  
Joseph Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Minority Overrepresentation ◽  
Focal Concerns Perspective ◽  
The Impact

Significant advances have been made in our understanding of the origins and dynamics of minority overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system. Nevertheless, much remains to be learned. In this article, the authors explore the impact of race on juvenile justice processing by examining the organizational contexts in which decisions are made. They offer a theoretical framework that combines insights from organizational theory and the focal concerns perspective and that focuses on the organizational players (action sets) involved in decision making from intake to final disposition. Based on the composition of action sets, and their corresponding value orientations, the authors make predictions regarding the influence of sociodemographic, legal, and extralegal variables at each processing juncture. The empirical test provides a reasonably good fit with the data. Implications for further research are discussed.

scholarly journals El efecto del género en la toma de decisiones en el sistema de Justicia Juvenil (The effect of gender on decision-making in the Juvenile Justice System)

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 442-464
Author(s):  
Ricardo Gallego Córcoles ◽  
Raquel Bartolomé Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Court Judge ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Toma De Decisiones

Existe evidencia de que cuestiones de género influyen en la toma de decisiones en Justicia Juvenil en diversos países. Sin embargo, en España no existen estudios empíricos al respecto. Una aproximación a nuestra realidad puede servir de punto de partida para realizar un análisis más profundo sobre la cuestión. Se diseñó un estudio descriptivo de naturaleza retrospectiva. La muestra estuvo constituida por 166 jóvenes, 127 chicos y 39 chicas, expedientados en el Juzgado de Menores de Guadalajara por cometer algún delito. Los resultados muestran que no existen diferencias significativas entre chicos y chicas en cuanto a las decisiones que se toman con respecto a ellos en ninguna de las fases del procedimiento judicial. Tampoco si se analizan únicamente los delitos violentos, tradicionalmente considerados propios de los chicos. Todas las profesionales que han intervenido en la toma de decisiones analizada son mujeres. Esta circunstancia puede influir en los resultados. There is enough evidence in scientific literature about the effect of gender on the decision-making in the Juvenile Justice System. However, in Spain, there are no known empirical studies in this regard. An approximation to our reality might serve as a starting point for a deeper analysis on the issue. The aim of the present study was to perform a descriptive, retrospective study of the cases disposed to the juvenile court judge during eight months in the Juvenile Court of Guadalajara, Spain. The final data set contained 166 cases, 127 boys and 39 girls disposed to the Juvenile Court of Guadalajara for committing some crime in the territorial scope of this province, No differences between sexes occurred in any case. Neither if only violent crimes are considered. All professionals who have intervened in the decision-making were women. This circumstance could influence the results obtained.

Female Status Offenders and Justice Reforms: An International Perspective

1982 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Hancock ◽  
Meda Chesney-Lind
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Court System ◽  
Status Offenders ◽  
Delinquent Girls

Females are treated differently from males in the juvenile justice system. While the majority of males appear in juvenile court on charges of illegal behaviour, most females appear on “status offence” grounds, that is, for behaviour that only juveniles under a particular age can be brought to police or court attention. Females charged on moral or status offences are treated more harshly than males. However, when they are charged with illegal behaviour, females are treated more leniently which is appropriate, since delinquent girls are generally involved in less serious criminal behaviour than boys. In principle, the juvenile court was set up to protect juveniles and, by giving wide powers of discretion to law enforcers, to facilitate decisions in young offenders' best interests. In practice, particular categories of youth are treated more harshly than others. Evidence indicates that those females appearing on status offence charges (often from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds) are discriminated against on the basis of their sexual behaviour. This paper describes the present situation and outlines the failures of attempts at legislative changes in the definition and processing of juvenile status offenders in the United States and Australia. These examples show that the double standard of juvenile justice is international; not simply an artifact of one nation's court system. Treating status offence problems within a criminal justice system has destructive and damaging effects which may only intensify the problems from which such youth are ostensibly being protected.

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