Book excerpt: This title focuses exclusively on the criminal and non-criminal misconduct of children that bring them within the jurisdiction of juvenile courts and examines law enforcement, judicial, and administrative responses to that misconduct. It deals with issues of children's rights only insofar as they relate to the processes of investigating and prosecuting juvenile offenders for delinquency and status-offenses. Like all Nutshells, it strives to provide a succinct exposition of the law for students studying juvenile justice, for lawyers who do not regularly practice in juvenile court, and for legislators and policy officials involved in juvenile justice law reform efforts.