Review by Choice Review
In this exceptional overview of the process of juvenile waivers to adult court, Myers (criminology, Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania) includes a detailed account of the history of the juvenile court system and does an excellent job of discussing the social and political context surrounding increases in transfers. He also gives clear descriptions of types of transfers as well as the process by which transfers occur, with a fair synopsis of prosecutorial and judicial discretion that should be easily understood by undergraduates and others not familiar with the juvenile justice system. Myers's personalization of the waiver process with the specific example of Nathaniel Abraham, the youngest defendant to be convicted as an adult, is appealing on a personal level but occasionally detracts from the broader contextual perspective of the rest of the book. Myers's research assessment nicely summarizes the ineffectiveness of waivers in reducing crime by juveniles and the failure of waivers to achieve general or specific deterrence. However, while the author does discuss the failures of specific institutions in juvenile programming, he gives less time to promising rehabilitative efforts, and does not expand on services beyond institutional borders, such as juvenile assessment centers, probation, or parole. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Most levels/libraries. R. K. Murray Creighton University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
