Data collected on all felony defendants during 1996 from a district court in a Midwestern county were examined for racial differences in the setting of bail. While we hypothesized that African Americans would receive higher bail amounts than whites, we found no independent effect of race on bail amounts either before or after applying controls for legal variables-seriousness of offense and prior arrests-and extralegal variables-sex, age, residency, and type of attorney. Thus, we were compelled to reject our hypothesis. Seriousness of offense and the interaction between offense seriousness and race were statistically significant in the regressions.

Racism, perpetrated by virtually all of America's governmental institutions, has long been a fact and problem of American life. Research suggests that America's juvenile justice systems have not escaped the negative effects of racism; thus, racial equity in outcomes of decisions made at various steps of the justice process remains a major issue in dispensing juvenile justice. This research examined Nebraska Crime Commission data over a six-year period and found, all else being equal, that black youths are usually more likely to receive harsher treatment than whites in regard to prehearing detention and final penalty. With regard to judging an accused youth to be delinquent or a status offender, the analysis reveals a reversal of this relationship between race and harshness of outcomes: Whites are more likely to be found delinquent.

ABSTRACT This research examines the differences in adjudication (delinquent/status offender or dismissal) and dispositions (transfer of custody or not transfer of custody) of specialized juvenile courts compared to courts of mixed jurisdiction hearing cases involving juvenile defendants. The data are from juvenile court records of the state of Nebraska for 1988 through 1993. The study uses logistic regression to examine the differences in the behavior of the types of courts while controlling for extralegal and legal characteristics of the defendants, as well as county environmental characteristics of the two types of courts. The authors found statistically significant differences in the adjudication decisions, with mixed jurisdiction courts more likely to adjudicate delinquent but not in the final dispositions of the two kind of courts. The findings are discussed within the framework of the parens patriae philosophy.

This article examines the differences in adjudications (delinquent or dismissal) and final dispositions (transfer of custody or no transfer of custody) of specialized juvenile courts compared to courts of general jurisdiction hearing cases involving juvenile defendants. The data are from juvenile court records of the state of Nebraska for 1982 through 1987. The study uses logistic regression to examine the differences in the behavior of the two types of courts while controlling for extralegal, legal, and county environmental characteristics of the defendants. The authors found statistically significant differences in the adjudication decisions but not in the final dispositions of the two kinds of courts. The findings are discussed within the framework of the parens patriae philosophy.

Unfortunately, racism, perpetrated by virtually all of America's governmental institutions, has long been a fact and problem of American life. Prior research suggests that America's juvenile justice systems have not been void of the negative effects of racism; thus, racial equity in dispositional decisions is a major issue in dispensing juvenile justice. The study presented in this research examined Nebraska Crime Commission data over a consecutive six year period and found, all else being equal, that black youths are usually more likely to receive harsher treatment than are whites in terms of: (1) experiencing pre-hearing detention, (2) being formally prosecuted by petition, and (3) receiving a harsher final penalty. With regard to judging an accused youth to be delinquent, the analysis reveals a reversal of the foregoing relationship between race and harshness of the decision.The research concludes with some policy recommendations to remove racial biases from juvenile justice processing.

Has the rate of electoral participation by women and blacks increased relative to that of white males over the past decade? This note updates an earlier work reporting comparative rates of participation of black and white males and females. This update indicates that the gender and racial gaps found in the 1960s and 1970s have almost disappeared in the 1980s. What differences remain between blacks and whites arelargely accounted for by class differences.