RESEARCH HAS NEGLECTED FEMALE JUVENILE OFFENDERS, ALTHOUGH THEY APPEAR IN COURTS WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY. THE UNDERLYING HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY WAS THAT TEENAGE FEMALES WHO EXHIBIT BEHAVIOR INCONSISTENT WITH THEIR SOCIALLY ASSIGNED SEX ROLES ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE PUNISHED THAN MALES. LITERATURE ON THEORIES OF FEMALE JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IS REVIEWED FROM THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT, ALTHOUGH MOST STUDIES HAVE BEEN DONE IN THE LAST 20 YEARS. THE ORIGINS AND TRENDS IN JUVENILE LAW AND COURT SYSTEMS ARE DESCRIBED WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT OF FEMALES. THE PRIMARY RESEARCH METHOD USED WAS SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION OF JUVENILE CASES BEING PROCESSED BY AN UNIDENTIFIED, MIDWESTERN URBAN COURT AIDED BY A CHECKLIST OF VARIABLES BEING CONSIDERED. THE JURISDICTION, FACILITIES, PERSONNEL, AND PROCEDURES OF THIS COURT ARE DESCRIBED. THE SAMPLE GROUP CONSISTED OF 181 JUVENILES: 50 MALE AND 31 FEMALE DELINQUENT OFFENDERS AND 50 EACH OF BOYS AND GIRLS WHO WERE RUNAWAYS. COURT PERSONNEL WERE INTERVIEWED AND THE RECORDS OF THE YOUTHS INVOLVED WERE REVIEWED. IN ADDITION TO SEX, THE FOLLOWING VARIABLES WERE ALSO ANALYZED FOR THEIR INFLUENCE ON COURT DECISIONS: RACE, PARENTAL PRESENCE AT THE HEARING, APPEARANCE AND DEMEANOR IN THE COURTROOM, TYPE OF OFFENSE COMMITTED, AND PRESENCE OF LEGAL COUNSEL. ANALYSIS OF THESE DATA INDICATED THAT FEMALE RUNAWAYS OFTEN RECEIVED MORE SEVERE COURT PENALTIES THAN MALES, BUT BOYS WERE USUALLY PUNISHED MORE SEVERELY IN DELINQUENCY CASES. PARENTS OF ADOLESCENT OFFENDERS, PARTICULARLY FATHERS, WERE MORE LIKELY TO ATTEND COURT HEARINGS FOR SONS THAN DAUGHTERS. UNCOOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR AS EXPRESSED IN DRESS OR BODY MOVEMENTS WAS MORE COMMON AMONG BLACK YOUTHS AND INFLUENCED THE SEVERITY OF THE SENTENCE. JUVENILE FEMALES COMMITTED ASSAULT AND BATTERY MORE OFTEN THAN MALES AND WERE ALSO MORE SEVERELY PUNISHED. FEMALE MINOR OFFENDERS AS A GROUP WERE GIVEN LESS COURT TIME THAN MALES, PARTICULARLY IN RUNAWAY CASES. MORE RESEARCH WAS RECOMMENDED IN SEVERAL AREAS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, INCLUDING DETENTION PROCEDURES, COMPARISON OF INNER CITY AND SUBURBAN MINOR OFFENDERS, JUVENILE COURT ADVERSARY SYSTEMS, AND DIVERSION PROGRAMS. TABLES ARE USED THROUGHOUT THE TEXT AND AN EXTENSIVE REFERENCE LIST IS INCLUDED. THE APPENDIXES CONTAIN A DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION AS A RESEARCH TECHNIQUE, A FLOW CHART OF THE MIDWESTERN COURT SYSTEM STUDIED, THE FORM AND DEFINITIONS OF VARIABLES USED IN THE OBSERVATION CHECKLIST, AND A SIMULATED COURT CALL SHEET. (MJM)