The juvenile delinquency court aims to modify children’s behaviour, but little is known about how parents’ experiences in juvenile delinquency courts may be affecting the court’s efforts. Whether parents believe the court system is fair and effective could have important implications for the juvenile justice system. This research uses two case studies of parents in two different courts in the Northeast United States to examine how parents’ views are created and reinforced through experiences in the juvenile court process. Integrating concepts from the sociolegal framework of legal consciousness, this research challenges some of the core concepts of procedural justice and brings to the surface new ideas about negative views of the law and disengagement from the justice system.