Youth Crime/Adult Time:
Is Justice Served?
Maricopa County, Arizona
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 Maricopa County, Arizona, findings show that:
- Most determinations to prosecute youth in the adult criminal court were made by prosecutors or legislators (77%), and not by judges (23%).
- Overall, 60% of cases filed in adult criminal courts involved minority youth.
- Minority youth were disproportionately charged in adult criminal court. For example, while African-American youth make up only 5% of the juvenile population, they accounted for approximately 7% felony arrests, and 13% of felony cases filed in criminal court.
- 22% of all youth who were detained pretrial were held in adult jails.
- White youth (6%) were twice as likely to be represented by retained private counsel as African-American youth (3%). Youth who were represented by retained private attorneys were less likely to be convicted and more likely to be transferred back to juvenile court.
- African-American youth (21%) and Latino (24%) youth were more likely than White youth (17%) to receive a sentence of incarceration (as opposed to split sentences or probation).
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...
