Citation

Bell SJ. Can. Rev. Sociol. Anthropol. 1994; 31(1): 35-64.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, University of Toronto Press)

DOI

10.1111/j.1755-618X.1994.tb01292.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Based on interviews with parents of a sample of young offenders appearing before a family court, this paper presents a quantitative test of five theoretical perspectives on sentencing. The results indicate that despite legislative change, status offenders are still a reality in Canadian courts and factors associated with court outcomes differ depending on whether the offence is of a traditional criminal nature or is a status offence. Contrary to recent research findings, results do not support a liberal/consensus perspective. Legally relevant variables are not found to affect court outcomes for either type of offence. Results for traditional offenders provide considerable support for a feminist perspective on court decision-making processes, suggest that social class effects on court outcomes may be the opposite to that predicted by a strictly neo-Mamian perspective, and provide some support for the notion that courts are 'loosely coupled' to other sectors of the juvenile justice system. Results for status offenders point in the direction of a social control explanation for court outcomes.