The Role of Transfer Criteria in Judicial Decision Making: Analyzing the Pertinence of Kent Factors

• In Event: Court Data and Judicial Decision Making

Abstract

Discretionary decline is one of three mechanisms used in Washington State to transfer jurisdiction from juvenile court to adult court. This function grants juvenile court judges the discretionary authority to analyze a juvenile case in the context of criteria decided by Kent v. United States (1966) and decide whether the case warrants a waiver to adult court. Previous empirical research has focused on quantitative methods to understand predictors of waiver across national samples of judges. However, literature is limited regarding detailed descriptions of judicial thinking through qualitative methods. The present study aims to explore this gap by revealing how juvenile court judges weigh and consider the eight Kent factors. Unstructured interviews will be employed with juvenile court judges in Washington State during the Summer of 2025 to analyze their rationale with regard to the decision to decline jurisdiction and the decision to retain jurisdiction. Data will be analyzed using techniques of thematic analysis focusing on the counterfactual revealed in the comparison of waived and retained cases. This will further illuminate the current understanding of judicial discretion in the context of declining juvenile court jurisdiction.

Author

• Hannah Wargo, Washington State University