For Group 2 (if interested)

Hey group 2! I know I'm not in your group but I found this interesting study from the Macarthur Foundation regarding automatic transfers and drug offenses. It looks interesting. If you want, please take a look.

Executive Summary: The Illinois Juvenile Justice Initiative, a MacArthur Models for Change grantee, spearheaded a broad coalition in support of public education and advocacy efforts to limit the automatic transfer of juvenile drug offenders to adult criminal court. As a result, in 2005, Illinois repealed the law requiring 15- and 16-year olds to be automatically tried as adults for drug offenses within 1,000 feet of schools or public housing. Now, a study by the Initiative (PDF) on the impact of the repeal finds that the number of youth automatically sent to adult courts has been lowered by two-thirds, and there has been no increase in juvenile court caseloads. Illinois is one of the four core states along with Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and Washington participating in the Models for Change initiative, which aims to create successful and replicable models for juvenile justice system reform.