Transferring Juveniles to Adult Court in Wisconsin: Practitioners Voice Their Views

Abstract

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s jurisdictions modified their waiver laws to make it easier to transfer juveniles to adult court. Waiver decisions, however, continue to be poorly understood. This article provides a presentation of the views and concerns of practitioners who work on a day‐to‐day basis with juvenile offenders. Judges, prosecutors, and public defenders (N = 128) throughout Wisconsin’s 72 counties were given the opportunity to participate vis‐à‐vis a mailed questionnaire, face‐to‐face interview or telephone interview. The ultimate goal is to better understand the complex waiver process, and gain information that will guide policy makers in making necessary policy modifications that will reduce ramifications, while increasing community safety. Indeed, both the benefits and consequences appear to be significant and substantial – a trend that is not likely to change in the future unless the legislature, practitioners and society are willing to approach waiver cases by the totality of circumstances.