Juvenile Decertification: Developing a Model for Classification and Prediction

Abstract

This study considers the impact of data from the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV), the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI), and the Youth Level of Service Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) on the court's decision whether to decertify an adolescent defendant back to juvenile court or keep the defendant in criminal court. There are significant positive relationships between certification status and age; number of violent charges; total charges; PCL:YV, YLS/CMI, and MAYSI total scores; and select subscales of the MAYSI and the YLS/CMI. Significant differences are found between those who remained in the adult criminal justice system and those who were decertified to the juvenile justice system for age, YLS/CMI total score, and the Prior and Current Offenses and Dispositions and Personality and Behavior subscales of the YLS/CMI. The combination of PCL:YV total score and select subscales from the MAYSI and YLS/CMI provided the most accurate model for predicting certification status.

Keywords: Juvenile decertification, Classification, Prediction, Psychopathy, Risk factors, Ecology, Recidivism, Statutes, Race