The two primary legal factors affecting most sentencing decisions in guidelines jurisdictions are the seriousness of the current conviction offense and the defendant’s prior involvement with the criminal justice system. While districts vary in the factors considered in prior record scores, the inclusion of juvenile adjudications in these assessments is common. Nevertheless, the impact that prior adjudications have on sentencing recommendations likely varies based on the types of juvenile adjudications included, the relative weight those prior actions are given relative to prior convictions as adults, and whether the guidelines impose upper limits on the extent to which juvenile adjudications can affect adult sentencing recommendations. In this study, we estimate the impact of juvenile adjudications on recommended sentencing outcomes using data from Pennsylvania from 2015-2019 and demonstrate a method to evaluate whether the current policy contributes to disparate sentencing recommendations. Further, we examine the extent to which alternative policy structures, that are in place in other jurisdictions, produce greater, lesser, or similar impacts on recommended sentences and potential disparity. We conclude with a discussion of research on juvenile cognitive development and its implications as related to our findings.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
April 2022
Research Article|
April 01 2022
The Consequences of Counting Juvenile Adjudications in Adult Sentencing
Miranda A. Galvin,
Miranda A. Galvin
Postdoctoral Scholar on Sentencing, Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, The Pennsylvania State University
Search for other works by this author on:
Matthew Kleiman,
Matthew Kleiman
Deputy Director, Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, and Associate Research Professor, The Pennsylvania State University
Search for other works by this author on:
Megan C. Kurlychek
Megan C. Kurlychek
Professor of Sociology, Criminology, and Public Policy and Associate Director, Criminal Justice Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University
Search for other works by this author on:
Federal Sentencing Reporter (2022) 34 (4): 251–258.
Citation
Miranda A. Galvin, Matthew Kleiman, Megan C. Kurlychek; The Consequences of Counting Juvenile Adjudications in Adult Sentencing. Federal Sentencing Reporter 1 April 2022; 34 (4): 251–258. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/fsr.2022.34.4.251
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.