Incarcerating Juveniles Into Adulthood: Organizational Fields of Knowledge and the Back End of Waiver

One of the consequences of waiver legislation is the long-term imprisonment of juveniles. Little is known about juveniles subject to long-term incarceration and the legal decision making that creates the conditions and length of their imprisonment. Although there is an emerging body of research on the front end of waiver that draws on theories of sentencing, there is little research on postsentencing decisions. Research on the back end of waiver is needed to understand the effect of transferring juveniles to criminal court. Legal decision making at the back end of waiver can be understood in terms of the jurisdictional context of organizational knowledge. The effects of back-end waiver decisions also need to be understood with respect to the reaction of juvenile offenders to their long-term incarceration.