Judging Children as Children: A Proposal for a Juvenile Justice System

Corriero is well placed to comment on the state of juvenile justice in the U.S.; for over a decade he has presided over a groundbreaking Manhattan courtroom dedicated to handling crimes committed by children under the age of 16. Corriero employs his experience to good effect in outlining the challenges of balancing society's interest in being safe with the desire to avoid transforming a youthful offender into a career criminal. He notes that the recent shift in local legislation toward a less tolerant approach has restricted the ability of judges to tailor punishments that fit not only the crime but the criminal. Corriero's text is readable; drawing on actual cases, he covers both the psychological and legal aspects of judging juvenile defendants. Law-and-order types are likely to view Corriero as too soft, while liberals will find little to disagree with in the judge's approach, though some may note the absence of discussion of defendants who in retrospect were treated too leniently. Skepticism may also be warranted for the claim of sociology professor Caroline Joy DeBrowner (who wrote one chapter about observing Judge Corriero in his courtroom) that the methods he proposes would work "irrespective of the judge's personality." (Sept.)