Teen Court: A National Movement
Profile: The Wyoming Bar and Teen Court
Support for teen courts begins in many ways. The Wyoming Bar Association and Foundation
jointly became involved in teen courts through the interest expressed by high school
students. The Wyoming Bar cooperated with the Wyoming LRE Council in sponsoring the 1995
Wyoming Youth Summit, supported by funding from the Youth for Justice Program of the
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Youth Summits provide
students from around the state an opportunity to meet and explore ways to prevent
violence.
The consensus of the 75 students attending the 1995 Summit was that their state should
pass legislation to create teen courts. Part of the students' Youth Summit experience was
to visit the capitol to make presentations in support of teen courts to House and Senate
Judiciary hearings. The students' lobbying was a success and their legislation passed in
1996. Subsequently the state bar and the Wyoming LRE Council cooperated to create teen
courts in four cities—Rock Springs, Powell, Cody, and Sheridan—and will soon
have another court in Cheyenne. Each court is autonomous and receives support from local
bar associations. The cooperation of the state and local bar with the Law-Related
Education Council is one model of how teen courts can be created and supported.
>>What are teen courts?
>>The Growth of Teen Courts
>>The Major Models
>>Steps for Implementing a Teen Court
>>Teen Courts and Law-Related Education
>>Delinquency Prevention; The Educational Role
>>Training
>>Profile: Salt Lake City's Peer Court
>>Student Courts
>>How Do Lawyers, Judges, and the Bar Support Teen
Courts?
>>Profile: A Lawyer's Inside View of Teen Court
>>Profile: The Wyoming Bar and Teen Court
>>Evaluation
>>Funding
>>Conclusion and References
>>Resources and Additional Information
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