Teen Court: A National Movement
What Are Teen Courts?
Teen court is a general term describing courts that involve young people in the
sentencing of their peers, whether in a school, juvenile justice, or a community setting.
These courts usually have young people serving as jurors and may also have them fulfilling
the roles of prosecuting attorney, defense attorney, judge, bailiff, or other officers of
the court. In most teen courts, young offenders are referred for sentencing, not for a
decision of guilt or innocence. There are, however, many different models (see "major models"), including some that determine
guilt or innocence.
Young offenders voluntarily choose teen court, with parental approval, as an
alternative to the criminal justice system or a disciplinary office. Offenders who prefer
legal representation and/or the regular court or disciplinary system can decline referral
to teen courts.
Teen court sentences commonly include community service (1–200 hours), jury duty
(up to 12 times), restitution, and apologies. Additional sentencing options include
counseling, educational workshops on substance abuse or safe driving, essay writing
(100–1000 words), victim-awareness classes, curfew, drug testing, school attendance,
and peer discussion groups.
Most teen courts are based in the juvenile justice system or in a community setting.
The most common agencies operating or administering teen court programs are juvenile
courts and private nonprofit organizations (29 percent each). The next most common
agencies are law enforcement agencies and juvenile probation departments (17 percent
each). Schools are the operating agency for about 10 percent of teen courts while a
variety of other agencies (e.g., city government, the administrative office of the court)
are less commonly the operating agency. (Godwin 1996)
Many teen courts accept only first-time offenders who have committed relatively minor
offenses. Table 1 identifies the offenses most commonly accepted by teen courts.
Table 1: Types of Offenses Accepted by Teen Courts |
Offense |
% of Programs Accepting |
Theft |
97 |
Alcohol/Drug Offenses |
95 |
Vandalism |
92 |
Disorderly Conduct |
90 |
Assault |
83 |
Traffic |
59 |
Truancy |
48 |
Violent |
20 |
Other |
27 |
(Godwin 1996) |