Knowledgeable Judges Make a Difference: Judicial Beliefs Affect Juvenile Court Transfer Decisions

This study examined how judicial knowledge and attitudes about transfer affects transfer decisions by juvenile court judges. Participants included 232 juvenile court judges from around the country who completed a vignette survey that presented a prototypical case involving a serious juvenile offender. Participants were asked to decide whether the juvenile should be transferred and to rate his rehabilitative potential. Judges who believed in the deterrent effects of transfer were more likely to recommend that the juvenile be transferred and to rate him as having lower rehabilitative potential. More experienced judges saw greater rehabilitative potential in the juvenile and were less likely to transfer him to the criminal court. Overall, judges tended to think that transfer lacked general and specific deterrent effects, endorsed rehabilitative over punitive goals in sentencing, and felt positively about the juvenile justice system's effectiveness in handling serious offenders. Yet, a sizable minority of judges felt otherwise. The implications of the findings for judicial education and legal advocacy are discussed.     

选定法官与法定法官——由我国台湾地区选定法官制度谈祖国大陆民事程序改革

我国台湾地区于2003年6月5日公布了《民事诉讼合意选定法官审判暂行条例》,这在世界范围内是一项创新性制度,该制度反映出了对当事人程序主体地位的保障,充分尊重了当事人对程序的选择权。我国的司法审判方式改革已经进行了十余年,在我国《民事诉讼法》修改之际,通过借鉴我国台湾地区的司法制度改革,我国民事诉讼法的修改应提升公众对司法的信赖度、对裁判的信服度和接纳度,充分体现对人权的保障,在司法改革中坚持合宪性要求。     

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Passes a Set of Practice Reform Resolutions

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) recently passed resolutions and policy statements on how to improve the lives of youth and families involved with juvenile or family courts. These resolutions address the needs of homeless youth and their families, juvenile probation and adolescent development, and the need for independent oversight of youth confinement facilities.     

A Need for Training: Preparing Juvenile and Family Court Judges on Military‐Related Issues

This brief report presents a study undertaken to better understand the training needs of judicial officers related to military issues. A snowball sample of judicial officers and court‐affiliated stakeholders were asked to identify the most critical training topics regarding military issues in juvenile and family court, as well as rate the importance of 13 potential training topics. The highest rated training topics for judicial officers (N = 129) were the (1) Welfare of spouses and children, (2) Protocols to consider when selecting kinship care for children of deployed parents, (3) Mental and physical health consequences of military service and deployment, (4) Reporting standards regarding Intimate Partner Violence or Family Violence, as well as implications for civil case investigation, and (5) Education support for children of deployed parents. Findings suggest a desire in the field for specific training on a multitude of issues related to serving/veteran men and women, spouses, and dependents. Recommendations for such trainings are discussed.