Juvenile Status And Criminal Sentencing: Does It Matter In The Adult System?

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of juvenile status on sentencing in the adult criminal justice system. This study includes four years (2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006) of national level data from the State Court Processing Statistics. The sample is comprised of over 35,000 offenders who were convicted in criminal court. In using multilevel modeling, the results indicate that juveniles are punished both equally and more harshly than adults, depending on the age of the adults and the specific sentencing outcome. The findings are partially consistent with existing research that suggests a juvenile penalty at the sentencing stage of criminal court proceedings. © The Author(s) 2013