Closing the Racial Disparity Gap in Youth Transferred to Adult Court

• In Event: Juvenile Court Intake, Transfer and Direct File Decisions

Abstract

One largely unexplored frontier of reducing racial and ethnic disparities within the criminal and juvenile justice systems is youth transfers to adult court. We investigated the processes that maintain disproportionate transfers of Black youth to adult court. Interviews with public defenders and State’s attorneys were completed regarding general perceptions of youth transferred to adult court, racial disparities within these transfers, and suggestions to remedy racial disparities. Pseudonyms were given to all participants. The results highlight potential racism that exists in certain counties based on politics and area type, such as rural or urban/suburban, implicit biases of the attorneys, lack of interest in juvenile justice, and local and familial context, such as how the police respond to youth of color. The study contributes to understanding how the main court actors perceive youth transfers to adult court and racial disparities within these transfers to provide concrete steps towards dismantling structural racism in the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

Authors

• Ebonie Epinger, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

• Lucy Kovacevic, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

• Doug Smith, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign