Juvenile Justice Case Processing: The Impact of Gender and Ethnicity on the Adjudication and Disposition Stages of Juvenile Justice Court Cases in Broward County, Florida

This study examines the impact of gender and ethnicity on two-decision stages-

adjudication, and disposition- of juvenile justice court case processing in Broward

County, Florida during 2002 to 2003 from a sample of the total population of 30,696

juvenile's referral to the juvenile justice system. The results of the study are as follows:

a larger proportion of Blacks at the adjudication stage was found guilty (71%) than

Whites (58%), Hispanics (62%), or Other (56%). A larger proportion of males were

found guilty than female (31%). The results at the disposition stage are as follows: A

small proportion of Blacks received intermediate sanctions (85%) than Whites (89%),

Hispanics (86%), or Other (98%). A small proportion of males (84%) received

intermediate sanctions than females (95%).