The research design called for following a sample of 100 adolescents aged 12-17 through stages of the juvenile justice process in 2 courts. While all sample cases were observed in court, not all adolescents and parents consented to followup interviews. The study revealed that juveniles from the same, predominantly working class backgrounds and charged with similar offenses were subjected to quite different court regimes. The book describes the sample's characteristics and details differences in processing by the two courts, one with a liberal paternalistic orientation and the other with a punitive approach to juvenile justice. Overall, the precourt experiences of police attitudes and behavior, particularly in relation to charge definition and the decision whether to prosecute, soured youths' respect for the process, even in the liberal court. The book addresses the perceptions of social workers and probation officers involved in the sample cases and clients' impressions of social work supervision. It concludes that social workers and probation officers can have little impact on the lives of poor working class families living in a depressed region that offers adolescents poor schooling and few job opportunities. Responsibilities placed on these welfare workers, who have limited resources, may encourage abuse of the civil and legal rights of working class families. Numerous case studies, tables, 7 notes, a bibliography, and an index are included.