This paper examines the impact of organizational factors on the rate at which juvenile courts commit referred youth to institutions. Analyzing a national sample, the paper demonstrates that both the rate at which cases are handled informally and the rate at which judges commit those youth who appear before them independently influence the overall commitment rate. It also discovers determinants of each of these two components of the commitment rate. The data support a view which stresses social and power processes, and not administrative rationality. Implications of the results for the analysis of juvenile courts and of public legal institutions in general are presented. (Author)