Youth Crime/Adult Time:
Is Justice Served?
Harris County, Texas
The Building Blocks for Youth report, Youth Crime/Adult Time: Is Justice Served? released on October 26, 2000, reveals disturbing aspects of the prosecution of minority youth in adult court. Overall, the findings show over-representation and disparate treatment of minority youth, and raise serious questions about the fairness and appropriateness of prosecuting youth in the adult criminal system.
In Harris County, Texas, findings show that:
- Overall, 83% of cases filed in adult criminal courts involved minority youth.
- Minority youth were disproportionately charged in adult criminal court. For example, African-American youth accounted for approximately 1 out of 4 felony arrests, but represented 1 out of 2 felony cases filed in criminal court.
- All youth who were detained pretrial were held in adult jails.
- African-American youth were as likely as White youth to be represented by retained private counsel (36% and 33% respectively). Three out of four Latino youth were represented by retained private counsel. The remaining youth, regardless of race or ethnicity, were represented by assigned counsel. Youth who were represented by retained private attorneys were less likely to be convicted and more likely to be transferred back to juvenile court.
- All African-American and White youth received a sentence of incarceration (as opposed to split sentences or probation); 90% of Latino youth received a similar sentence.
To obtain the executive summary of Youth Crime/Adult Time: Is Justice Served?,visit the Building Blocks for Youth website at: www.buildingblocksforyouth.org.
For the latest Building Blocks for Youth initiative reports, fact sheets, and materials, subscribe to the on-line newsletter by sending an email to: info.bby@erols.com. For additional information, contact: Building Blocks for Youth initiative, Youth Law Center, 1010 Vermont Ave., N.W., Suite 310, Washington, D.C. 20005. Phone: 202/637-0377; Fax: 202/379-1600; Email: info.bby@erols.com.
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Building Blocks for Youth
For a fair and effective youth justice system
...a comprehensive effort to protect minority youth in the justice system
and to promote rational and effective juvenile justice policies...
