An overview of the history of juvenile justice in America begins with the development of juvenile corrections policy during the 19th century, because many of the ideas that originated from experimentation in corrections practices would influence the philosophy and organization of the juvenile court during the next century. This is followed by a review of the U.S. Supreme Court case In re Gault (387 U.S. 1 1967) and its impact on the juvenile justice system. This case ended benign neglect of the juvenile justice system and introduced a period in which juveniles were increasingly thought to be entitled to constitutional procedural protections similar to those of adults. Another section of this chapter profiles case processing through a contemporary juvenile justice system in America. The critical decision points discussed are referral, intake, detention, transfer, adjudication, disposition, and release. In discussing each stage of case processing, examples are provided of youths' roles and responsibilities that are likely to unfold differently as they mature to adulthood. Remaining sections of the chapter discuss the relevance of developmental information to juvenile justice decision making, understanding adolescent development based on the science of developmental psychology, the nature of adolescence in contemporary society, and salient features of adolescent development (physical development, intellectual development, emotional development, and social development). 19 references and 4 notes