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Legal Boundaries Between the Juvenile and Criminal Justice Systems in the United States

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‘Every U.S. state distinguishes between juveniles and adults. Every state maintains one court and correctional system for juveniles, and another for adults. And every state sets limits upon eligibility for juvenile handling — boundaries where childhood ends and adult criminal responsibility begins. But no two states draw these boundaries in precisely the same way.’ [p. 1] The author goes on to review the types of juvenile transfer provisions used by state juvenile justice systems, and calls for improved state and national data collection and research in order to answer the most basic questions about the operation of these laws and their effectiveness. Includes 10 tables displaying state variations in juvenile jurisdiction, transfer, and sentencing provisions. This work will appear as a chapter in a book edited by Rolf Loeber and David Farrington, to be published in April 2012.

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