Peer Juries

Also called Youth, Teen and Student Courts

Peer Juries are programs in which youth work together with youthful offenders, victims and the community which is most often the school setting, to repair harm, build compentencies and help to create safer schools and/or communities. Youth Courts typically are set up in different configurations resembling courts, while peer juries often resemble BARJ models of Circle Sentencing, Accountability Conferencing, or Community Panels. They usually deal with minor delinquent and status offenses and other problem behaviors. In 1994 there were only 78 youth court programs in operation. As of October 2006, there were over 1127 youth court programs in operation in 49 states and the District of Columbia .

Most programs require youth to admit guilt prior to participation. When the program or disposition is completed charges or consequences are typically dismissed. Agencies operating and administering youth court programs include juvenile courts, juvenile probation departments, law enforcement, private nonprofit organizations, and schools.

Goals
The goals of peer juries are to:

•  Determine a fair and restorative sentence or disposition.

•  Supervise the disposition and monitor the outcome.

Implementation
According to the National Youth Court Database (October 2006):

•  53% of youth court programs require respondents to participate in jury duty at least once as part of their sentence.

•  The average amount of training that most youth court volunteers receive is 10 hours.

•  55% of youth courts close their hearings to the general public.

•  30% of youth courts hold hearings at least once a month.

•  70% of youth courts hold hearings all year long vs. 28% of programs that operate during the school year only.

•  The average reported annual budget for a youth court program is approximately $32,767.

According to the National Youth Court Database (October 2006):

•  The Adult Judge Model is used by approximately 53% of youth courts. 

•  The Youth Judge Model is used by approximately 18% of youth courts. 

•  The Peer Jury Model is used by approximately 31% of youth courts.

•  The Youth Tribunal Model is used by approximately 10% of youth courts.

Lessons Learned
According to the Urban Institute's Evaluation of Teen Courts Project, which was based on four teen court programs studied in four different states (Alaska, Maryland, Arizona, and Missouri), the six-month recidivism figures among the programs ranged from 6% to 9%.

For further information see www.youthcourt.net .