THE STUDY SUBJECTS CONSTITUTED A QUOTA SAMPLE DRAWN FROM RUNAWAY CASES APPEARING IN THE MINORS-IN-NEED-OF-SUPERVISION (MINS) COURT OF A MIDWESTERN CITY. FEMALE RUNAWAYS RECEIVED THE MOST SEVERE COURT SANCTION MORE OFTEN THAN MALE RUNAWAYS, WERE MORE OFTEN HELD IN CUSTODY AT THE TIME OF THEIR MINS HEARING, AND WERE MORE OFTEN HELD IN CUSTODY THAN FEMALES CHARGED WITH CRIMINAL OFFENSES. ONLY 6 PERCENT OF ALL CASES INVOLVED COURT-ORDERED PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS, BUT ALL OF THESE CASES INVOLVED FEMALES. SEXUAL MISBEHAVIOR APPEARED TO BE PRESUMED BY THE COURT AS JUSTIFICATION FOR MEDICAL SCRUTINY. UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS INDICATED THAT WHITE RUNAWAYS ARE ARRESTED EIGHT TIMES AS FREQUENTLY AS BLACKS, BUT THE MAJORITY OF RUNAWAYS HANDLED BY THIS COURT WERE BLACK. BOTH BLACK FEMALES AND WHITE MALES WERE PUNISHED MORE SEVERELY THAN BLACK MALES; BLACK MALES WERE PLACED UNDER SUPERVISION (THE LEAST SENTENCE) 70 PERCENT OF THE TIME. MOTHERS TENDED TO BE PRESENT AT HEARINGS FOR FEMALES, FATHERS AT HEARINGS FOR MALES. IF EITHER PARENT (BUT ESPECIALLY THE FATHER) WAS PRESENT, THE YOUTH WAS MORE LIKELY TO RECEIVE THE LEAST SEVERE PENALTY. MORE TIME WAS ALLOTTED TO HEARINGS FOR MALES THAN TO HEARINGS FOR FEMALES. THE FINDINGS SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT ADOLESCENT FEMALES ARE MORE LIKELY THAN MALES TO BE PUNISHED SEVERELY FOR TRANSGRESSING SEX ROLE EXPECTATIONS. THERE IS A NEED FOR MORE STUDIES CONCERNED WITH DIVERTING STATUS OFFENDERS FROM THE COURTS, AND WITH CHANGING COMMUNITY ATTITUDES TOWARD YOUNG FEMALE MISCREANTS. SUPPORTING DATA ARE PROVIDED. (LKM)