It is argued that organizational variables play an important role in the adoption of due process and in service delivery within courts with juvenile jurisdiction. A total of 195 courts with juvenile jurisdiction across the nation were first classified in terms of organizational contextual characteristics and then compared as to the degree of due process commitment at adjudication and service capability. It was found that courts with exclusive juvenile jurisdiction followed to a greater extent due process criteria than did courts with limited and general jurisdiction. Furthermore, the smaller the population served by the courts, the lesser were problems with respect to service delivery. Juvenile courts did not share a distinctive structure, but courts with smaller jurisdictions tended to be organized according to a human relations model. It was concluded that in order to maximize the dual goal of the juvenile justice system, justice, and service, small courts with exclusive jurisdiction will be the most functional. The trend across the nation is, however, in the opposite direction, the probability of jurisdiction specialization increasing with jurisdiction size. The persistence of conflict between justice and service goals is predicted if this trend is maintained.
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