Racial minorities represented 9.4 percent of the youth ages 17 and under in the county studied; Hispanics were the largest ethnic group, followed by American Indians, blacks, and Asians. The research included a 6 percent sample (507) of white youths referred to the juvenile court, 68 percent (984) of the Native Americans, and all (475) of the African Americans referred to the juvenile court during the 10-year period. The research used logistic regression to examine two hypotheses: (1) American Indian youths and black youths receive more severe outcomes than white youths with similar backgrounds and legal histories and (2) Native Americans are at a greater disadvantage in general than are African Americans. Results revealed that youths of both minority groups receive different treatment than white youths. The race effects varied with the stage of the proceedings that was assessed. Contrary to expectations, Native Americans received more lenient outcomes than did African Americans and whites. Followup interviews with juvenile court workers indicated that the disparate treatment of minority groups appeared to relate to the availability of court resources, the cooperativeness of the youths and their families, and a possible selection bias. Footnotes, tables, appended table, and 79 references (Author abstract modified)