A JURY OF PEERS

The frequent inquiries received at our Chicago offices about juvenile juries prompted us to allot some space to it here. To date the National Council has taken no position on their use. A study done in 1965 by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency of eighteen teen-age juries showed many of the claims made on behalf of the teen-age jury—for example, that it gives a teen-ager “a fair trial by a jury of his peers”—are dubious. “The juvenile jury lacks legal foundation and signifies a de facto surrender of judicial authority and responsibility. No substantial evidence was found to support the assertion that the teen-age jury reduces juvenile delinquency and youth crime. The procedure perpetuates the archaic and unsound practice of jury sentencing long abandoned, even for criminal cases, in all but a few states.”