Specific topics addressed are the assistance/resistance parents extend to the court; the role played by the parents at various court stages; conflicts the parents have with the juvenile and the defense attorney and fairness problems these conflicts create; and liabilities, penalties, and responsibilities parents should have within the juvenile justice system. Data show that the size and demographics of the community served by the juvenile court apparently play a role in the level of parent participation in case processing. Economically advantaged parents with cooperative attitudes appear regularly in the suburban and rural courts. The data also suggest that previous research efforts that have attempted to ascertain the factors that influence the disposition in juvenile court may be incomplete, inasmuch as they have not measured what is probably immeasurable: the parents' interaction with the court's officials. The researchers advise that it is time for juvenile court to be either a real family court and not legally hurt defendants because their families are "hurting" or a quasi- criminal court that will exacerbate the conflict between parents and juveniles, create substantial fairness problems, and possibly supply the impetus necessary to bring the uniqueness of the juvenile court to an end. 7 tables and a 70-item bibliography