Critique of Waiver Research

Of the many recent changes in juvenile justice, none are more prominent than waiver laws designed to more easily transfer young offenders to adult courts. These laws create more options to punish youth as if they were adults, leading some to question the need for a separate juvenile justice system. As yet, however, we have little systematic empirical basis for assessing the effectiveness of these laws. To help develop the foundation for such an assessment, this article examines the leading intended and unintended impacts identified by researchers. It then discusses critical research gaps that must be addressed if we are to develop a balanced and empirically informed assessment of the effectiveness of waiver.