Book Review: Just sentencing: Principles and procedures for a workable system

• Author: Matthew G. Yeager
• Date: 01 March 2014
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016814523036
• Published date: 01 March 2014
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

changes in New York City; in particular, the way one judge’s passion for youths has changed the

landscape of the court system. Barrett discusses the various legal changes that have come about

in the state of New York since the early 1970s, most notably the swing from the rehabilitative stance

to the more retributive attitude that occurred during the 1990s. In each chapter, Barrett delivers a

historical look at the foundation of and the practical, onsite application of these laws.

The most salient point that Barrett makes in this book concerns a contradiction in the legal stand-

ing regarding youth versus adult status. In New York, a youth who is adjudicated for committing two

crimes while at the same age can easily have cases processed in both family court and adult court

concurrently. Addressing this problem, the Youth Part in New York City is a specialized,

individual-focused court system created for youths who straddle that boundary between juvenile and

adult. Barrett describes the processes and cases of the Manhattan Youth Part and examines how this

type of court system benefits those youths at once labeled legally as both a child and an adult. In the

Manhattan Youth Part, cases may be presented based on the involvement or presence of any youth;

many nonyouths are processed in this court as well. Many youth-appropriate, beneficial options to

incarceration or detention are available through the Manhattan Youth Part, including specialized

programming, customized curfews, being sentenced as a youthful offender, and record sealing.

Barrett observed that not only were these youths more likely to be successful, but that subtle

differences emerged in the youths as they progressed through the Ma nhattan Youth Part. Barrett

noted how the atmosphere in the Youth Part differed from that of a regular courtroom. Here, the

judge interacted with the youths in a parental manner, of ten reprimanding the youth when they did

not meet the requirements of their programs, and reinforcing instructions or views of the parent.

Barrett described the interactions between the judge and the youths as informal and conversa-

tional, encouraging the youths to sense that the judge was someone invested in them whom they

could trust.

Barrett’s research covered daily activities in court as she also sought evidence that Youth Part

courts were effective in bridging the gap between the Family Court and the criminal (adult) court.

She found that of the five Youth Parts in the City of New York, youths processed in the Manhattan

Youth Part were less likely than those in other youth parts to be rearrested. Relatedly, Manhattan

Youth Part used youthful offender status less frequently than the other Youth Part Courts.

Barrett’s ethnographical approach neatly reveals larger legal and social concepts as well as con-

tradictions that existing laws create, but also empowers readers to see the effects of policies and pro-

gramming on the individual. This book would function well as a supplement to any juvenile justice

course. The content is engaging and very readable. The text is relatively short and small. As this

book gives real-life testimonies from juveniles processed through the Youth Part Court, students

may especially enjoy this addition to their other, more theoretical texts for class.

Frase, R. S. (2013).

Just sentencing: Principles and procedures for a workable system. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 280

p. $55.00 (Hardcover), ISBN 978-0-19-975786-2.

Reviewed by: Matthew G. Yeager, King’s University College, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada

DOI: 10.1177/0734016814523036

This book is the product of several decades of work on sentencing theory and legislative practice,

informed by the author’s expertise on the sentencing guidelines system in the state of Minnesota.

It represents a neo-classical treatment of sentencing practice, whose origins date to the Classical

106 Criminal Justice Review 39(1)