Abstract
The treatment of juveniles within the confines of the law has changed throughout history. When juvenile court was introduced in the United States most juveniles were tried as though they were in adult court. Juvenile court reformers did not feel this practice should continue, and as such, they advocated for a more rehabilitative system based on the ideology that juveniles would be more amenable to treatment than adults. This view changed in the 1980's and the 1990's when it became clear that not only were juvenile crime rates increasing, they were also becoming more serious in nature. During this time the concept of juvenile "super predators" was developed due to the egregious crimes being perpetuated. The aim of this paper is to address what possible costs and benefits may be associated with transferring juveniles to adult criminal court. Any costs or benefits would not only apply to the juvenile being sentenced, but also their families, the public, and any potential social worker assigned to work with the juvenile.