To ensure their confinement for a period exceeding the maximum sentence available under the juvenile court, prosecutors frequently seek to transfer older adolescents to adult criminal court. States' new blended sentencing laws allow juvenile courts to impose adult sentences or extend their sentencing jurisdiction past the age of majority. Typically, blended sentencing laws target juvenile offenders who are eligible for transfer to criminal court under State transfer laws. In addition, blended sentencing laws remove juveniles from criminal court prosecution and the potential negative consequences of such prosecution; the lose of rehabilitative benefits within the juvenile justice system. They work in tandem with transfer laws as an alternative or addition to transfer. Five basic blended sentencing models instituted in 20 States are presented and include: the juvenile and criminal-exclusive models, juvenile and criminal-inclusive models, and the juvenile-continguous model. It is suggested that the best blended sentencing law maintains jurisdiction in the juvenile court, with the adult or extended juvenile sentence conditionally suspended, provided the juvenile is rehabilitated and does not commit a new offense. References