This article examines the various ways in which youth that are charged with criminal
behavior are excluded from the juvenile court process and are prosecuted instead in
criminal court. The first objective of this work is to eliminate the confusion and
misrepresentations concerning exclusion that have dominated the juvenile justice
literature. Suggestions are offered as to how this material should be conceptualized and
organized so as to avoid these problems. The second objective is to develop a rationale
for exclusion that can serve as a foundation from which to develop sound exclusion
policy. The strengths and weaknesses of the potential policy stands on exclusion are
examined, and the article concludes with an explanation of the desirability of the
selective exclusion of serious and chronic offenders from juvenile court. |