ABSTRACT
Cow-county judges and probation officers who ignored features of the new law or gave them only nominal attention did so with a sure conviction that they were changes primarily meant to serve the needs of large counties. The role of the investigating officer in presenting the case against parents and juveniles can be both anomalous and stressful, for ordinarily he lacks the legal knowledge, training, temperament, or experience to play what in reality is a prosecutor's role. In their first experience with the new law, some judges tried to hear cases without first reading the dispositional report, then gave it up as a bad job and joined the majority of judges who currently read both reports to hearings. Important differences unfolded in the process by which probation departments and juvenile courts sought means to incorporate, accommodate, or reject ends of the new law. Three major emphases became visible: administrative reorganization, entreprenurial exploitation and formalism.
