Across the nation, serious and chronic juvenile offenders are increasingly being tried as
adults in criminal court and incarcerated in adult correctional facilities. This trend
raises important questions for policy makers. To what extent do trials in criminal courts
and incarceration in adult prisons promote or inhibit community protection and the
accountability and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders? This article discusses the legal
consequences of adjudication in criminal court and offers a comprehensive review of
research findings on the deterrent effects of transfer laws, conviction and sentencing
patterns and recidivism rates in juvenile versus criminal courts, and conditions and
programming in juvenile versus adult correctional facilities. The implications of these
research findings for juvenile justice policies on adjudicating and sentencing juveniles
as adults and directions for future research are discussed. |