Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Role of Parents and Parens Patriae: Developing Views of Legitimacy and Justice in Juvenile Delinquency Court

Northeastern University, Boston MA

Investigators

Abstract

Participating in the juvenile court process and sharing legal experiences with family members may influence how parents and children view the justice system's ability to treat all people fairly. This research examines whether parents, with a child accused of committing a crime, experience the court system as fair and effective and how views of legitimacy and justice may be developed within families. Building on prior work on legal consciousness and procedural justice, this qualitative study will follow twenty families who have a child entering the justice system on a new charge of delinquency. Multiple members of each family, including the juvenile and his or her parents, will be interviewed at different times during the juvenile court process. Interviews will be supplemented by observations of court proceedings and meetings with defense attorneys. This study focuses on two courts located in urban, historically disadvantaged communities, areas that have been disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system. This research will extend previous work in legal consciousness by exploring whether the non-voluntary character of criminal law renders legal experiences more salient and meaningful. The element of coercion is especially pertinent for parents in juvenile court because parents are compelled into legal interaction for either the good of the child or the best interests of society. Through its longitudinal nature, this study can capture and explain change, conceiving of legal consciousness as an emergent and interactive process rather than a stable state of thinking or acting. This research extends procedural justice literature by using qualitative methods to examine how perceptions of the legal system's legitimacy evolve throughout the course of a legal proceeding and the role of family interaction in developing and maintaining views of law and justice.