Youth on Trial: A Developmental Perspective on Juvenile Justice (The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Mental Health and De) [Hardcover]

Thomas Grisso (Editor), Robert G. Schwartz (Editor)

Book Description

Series: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Mental Health and De | Publication Date: August 1, 2000

It is often said that a teen "old enough to do the crime is old enough to do the time," but are teens really mature and capable enough to participate fully and fairly in adult criminal court? In this book--the fruit of the MacArthur Foundation Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice--a wide range of leaders in developmental psychology and law combine their expertise to investigate the current limitations of our youth policy. The first part of the book establishes a developmental perspective on juvenile justice; the second and third parts then apply this perspective to issues of adolescents' capacities as trial defendants and questions of legal culpability. Underlying the entire work is the assumption that an enlightened juvenile justice system cannot ignore the developmental psychological realities of adolescence.

Not only a state-of-the-art assessment of the conceptual and empirical issues in the forensic assessment of youth, Youth on Trial is also a call to reintroduce sound, humane public policy into our justice system..

Contributors: Richard Barnum, Richard J. Bonnie, Emily Buss, Elizabeth Cauffman, Gary L. Crippen, Jeffrey Fagan, Barry C. Feld, Sandra Graham, Thomas Grisso, Colleen Halliday, Alan E. Kazdin, N. Dickon Reppucci, Robert G. Schwartz, Elizabeth Scott, Laurence Steinberg, Ann Tobey, Jennifer L. Woolard, Franklin E. Zimring

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This major contribution to the field of juvenile justice opens a door that has needed opening. . . . Thanks to Grisso, Schwartz, and their colleagues and the MacArthur Network, perhaps there ultimately will be a kinder, gentler nation, at least as far as juvenile offenders are concerned."

(Alan M. Goldstein Journal of Psychiatry and Law )

"It is refreshing to read a publication that is truly original, innovative, and challenging, addressing as it does all aspects and all stages of the impact of the legal process on adolescents."

(Susan Bailey Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry )

“After meticulously presenting competency and development issues faced by youth . . . the book moves to a solution-focused orientation that will be appreciated by academicians and practitioners. Readers interested in mental health issues of youths are provided a litany of literature, data, research, and tools that offer a better understanding and approach to a fairer justice process for juveniles. The book refreshingly becomes a ‘how to’ manual for lawyers, judges, parents, and even youth interested in applying the developmental perspective. . . . A must-read for any student of juvenile justice, as it is a prelude to the inclusion of developmental psychology into the juvenile justice field."

(Everette B. Penn Criminal Justice Review )

From the Inside Flap

During the 1990s, almost every state changed its laws so that youths charged with serious crimes could be tried and punished as though they were adults. But do youths have the maturity to participate as defendants in their trials in adult criminal courts? Are they equally as culpable as adults when they commit the same offenses?

In Youth on Trial, experts in psychology and law-affiliates of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice-take a developmental perspective to examine these important questions. They reach troubling conclusions and suggest the need for substantial reform in law, public policy, and practice regarding youthful offenders.

Part I offers a foundation for a developmental perspective on juvenile justice. In Part II, the contributors take aim at the presumption that youths are capable of participating meaningfully in their trials in adult criminal courts based simply on the fact that they are charged with serious offenses. Theory and research from psychology, psychiatry, and law are brought to bear on questions of youths' capacities to understand and decide important matters as defendants in their trials. Contributors also review the challenges that youths' immaturity presents for their attorneys, as well as clinical and forensic issues in assessing youths' competence to stand trial.

Part III focuses on questions of culpability and mitigation. If youth are to be punished like adults, they should be equally blameworthy with regard to the manner in which their offenses were committed. The contributors address this issue by drawing on pertinent legal precedent and theory, as well as empirical knowledge of the psychological and social capacities of youth relative to those of adults. Are youth enough like adults to make appropriate a punitive response that equals the sentences that adults would receive?

Underlying the entire work is the assumption that an effective legal response to youthful offenders cannot ignore the developmental realities of adolescence. Youth on Trial makes a compelling call, based on sound legal and psychological arguments, to introduce developmentally sensitive public policy into our juvenile justice system.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 472 pages
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press; First Edition edition (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226309126
• ISBN-13: 978-0226309125
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,404,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Valuable Collection, December 20, 2001

By 

Jeffrey A. Butts "jbutts" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Youth on Trial: A Developmental Perspective on Juvenile Justice (The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Mental Health and De) (Hardcover)

For anyone interested in how courts deal with juvenile crime, and for anyone who thinks there must be a better way, read this book. Drawing upon the simple, yet profound idea that children do not turn into adults on a single day, the authors elaborate on the deficiencies of a legal system that is, in fact, largely based upon just that notion. The chapters help us to envision a legal system that would see adolescent development as a gradual and continuous process, and that would not allow prosecutorial ambition alone to determine which young offenders should be held criminally responsible for their actions.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Once Again, the Grisso Approach is Most Thoughtful, June 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Youth on Trial: A Developmental Perspective on Juvenile Justice (The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Mental Health and De) (Hardcover)

Read this book. Change the system.