Characteristics of juveniles charged with domestic violence in the Jefferson County Family Court and the effect of prior domestic violence conviction on case disposition

Juvenile violence has received considerable attention both in criminological literature and policy circles, but this attention has largely ignored juvenile domestic violence offending, which is a growing problem in the Jefferson County Family Court. This study identifies the characteristics of juvenile domestic offenders in the Jefferson County Family Court, and examines the effect of prior domestic violence conviction on case disposition. Results indicate that these juveniles are black, males, in school and the most likely victim of the violence is the juvenile's mother. Prior domestic violence offending has no statistically significant effect on case disposition.