While prior studies of juvenile court outcomes have examined the impact of legal representation on out-of-home placement versus community sanctions, previous research has not fully explored the variation within sanctions that youth receive. The current study examines the influence of type of legal representation (public defender or private attorney) when predicting juvenile adjudications and dispositions. Using a sample of delinquent referrals from a Northeast state between 2009 and 2014, results showed that youth do receive different outcomes (e.g., probation, drug and alcohol treatment, accountability-oriented dispositions, etc.) based on the type of legal representation. The findings have important implications for juvenile court processing related to how courtroom actors impact case outcomes.

虽然先前对少年法庭结果的研究已经检验了法律代理对外出安置与社区制裁的影响，但先前的研究并未充分探讨青少年受到的制裁的变化。当前的研究调查了法律代理类型（公设辩护人或私人律师）在预测青少年裁决和处置时的影响。使用 2009 年至 2014 年间东北部州的违法转介样本，结果表明，根据法律代表的类型，青年确实收到了不同的结果（例如，缓刑、药物和酒精治疗、以问责为​​导向的处置等）。调查结果对与法庭行为者如何影响案件结果相关的少年法庭处理具有重要意义。