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Juvenile Drug Court Program Admission, Demeanor and Cherry-Picking: A Research Note

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Abstract

The influence of demeanor in criminal justice research has predominantly centered on arrest and sanctioning outcomes. This study examines demeanor at the juncture of juvenile drug court admission by attributing behavior perceived to be favorable or unfavorable to program compliance and success to either juveniles or their parents/guardians. Analysis of 76 juvenile drug court case files enabled examination of how parent and child demeanor impacts specialty court admission. Findings suggest that program admittance (i.e., system leniency through diversion) is largely a function of projected attitude and behavior during screening interviews, but selection decisions are made irrespective of demeanor source. Implications of the findings for drug court processes and continued system involvement are discussed.

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Notes

  1. VIF scores indicate no major collinearity issues among the variables in the regression equation (race, age, gender, mental health, family status, number of charges, and demeanor source).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Criminology & Crimninal Justice, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA

    J. C. Barnes

  2. Department of Criminal Justice, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, 78207, USA

    J. Mitchell Miller & Holly V. Miller

  3. Criminology, Law, and Society, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Chris Gibson

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  1. J. C. Barnes
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  2. J. Mitchell Miller
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  3. Holly V. Miller
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  4. Chris Gibson
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Correspondence to Holly V. Miller.

Additional information

This work was supported in part by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Grant # JAIBGJS0309/10. Points of view are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of OJJDP.

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Barnes, J.C., Miller, J.M., Miller, H.V. et al. Juvenile Drug Court Program Admission, Demeanor and Cherry-Picking: A Research Note. Am J Crim Just 33, 166–176 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-008-9046-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-008-9046-y

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