Disposition

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

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Disposition

Q:	Have there been increases in the number of cases judicially waived to criminal court?
A:	The number of delinquency cases judicially waived to criminal court grew 80% between 1985 and 1994 and then declined 47% through 2005. However, trends varied across offense categories.

Delinquency cases judicially waived to criminal court, 1985-2005

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One of the first actions taken during the juvenile court process is determining whether a case should be processed in the criminal justice system rather than in juvenile court. In most States, cases referred to juvenile court that meet certain criteria may be transferred to criminal court upon the authorization of the juvenile court judge. In such cases, the judge may waive the juvenile court's jurisdiction over the case, thus referring it to criminal court for prosecution. This mechanism is known as judicial waiver.
Most States have more than one mechanism for transferring cases to criminal court. In an increasing number of States, cases that meet certain age and offense criteria are excluded by statute from juvenile court jurisdiction and are thus filed directly in criminal court. In some States, statutes give prosecutors discretion to file certain juvenile cases directly in criminal court under concurrent jurisdiction provisions.
The number of delinquency cases judicially waived to criminal court in 2005 was 47% less than the number waived in 1994, the peak year.
The number of person offense cases judicially waived to criminal court more than doubled between 1985 and 1994 and then declined 36% through 2005. Despite this decline, person offense cases (51%) represented the largest share of waived cases in 2005.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/court/qa06502.asp?qaDate=2005. Released on September 12, 2008.

Adapted from Puzzanchera, C. and Sickmund, M. (2008). Juvenile Court Statistics 2005. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.