RT Article
T1 Applying Black’s Theory of Law to Juvenile Justice Decisions
JF American journal of criminal justice
VO 46
IS 3
SP 461
OP 482
A1 Chappell, Allison T.
A2 Maggard, Scott R.
LA English
YR 2021
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1764208102
AB An abundance of research has examined the impact of legal and extra-legal variables on juvenile justice processing. Much of this research, whether explicitly or implicitly, investigates the extent to which extra-legal variables, such as race, ethnicity, and gender, impact decision making. Some of these studies have also considered how social situational factors shape outcomes. However, there remains a need for theoretical development to improve our understanding of how the social structure of a case influences processing. Informed by an interpretation of Black’s theory of law, the current study investigated the influence of family structure, school performance, prosocial activities, and demographic variables on intake and adjudication decisions in delinquency cases in a mid-Atlantic state. Overall, we found moderate support for Black’s theory. Findings suggested that race, gender, and age consistently conditioned juvenile justice processing, but that social situational variables had inconsistent effects on intake and adjudication. Implications for theory, policy, and practice are discussed.
K1 Black’s theory of law
K1 Racial Disparities
K1 Detention
K1 juvenile justice
DO 10.1007/s12103-020-09566-w