Question

teen defendents should be judged by teen juries. write an short essay​

Answer 1

Answer:

that the judgment of a juvenile

offender’s peers may have a greater

impact than the decisions of adult au-

thority figures.

The teen court concept has gained

popularity in recent years as juvenile

courts have had to deal with in-

creased numbers of serious, violent,

and chronic juvenile offenders. Its ac-

ceptance has been fueled, in part, by

positive anecdotal reports from those

involved with this peer-centered ap-

proach. This Bulletin examines sev-

eral teen court evaluations, but cau-

tions that we lack the empirical data

needed to fully evaluate the effective-

ness of this intervention.

In keeping with its commitment to

identifying “what works,” OJJDP is

funding the Evaluation of Teen Courts

Project. This Bulletin includes a pro-

file of teen court characteristics and

implementation challenges, derived

from a national survey of teen courts

conducted in the project’s first phase.

Phase two will consist of a multisite

evaluation.

Until the findings of that evaluation

are available next year, I hope that

communities considering the merits

of teen courts will find this Bulletin to

be a useful interim guide.

John J. Wilson

Acting Administrator

October 2000

Teen Courts:

A Focus on Research

Jeffrey A. Butts and Janeen Buck

Growing from a handful of programs in

the 1960’s, the number of teen courts (or

youth courts) now operating in the United

States has been estimated to be as high as

675. Communities across the Nation con-

tinue to demand better information and

assistance with which to start or enhance

their own teen courts. This Bulletin helps

to address that demand by providing in-

formation about the characteristics of es-

tablished teen courts and the operational

and managerial challenges they face. It

also summarizes the evaluation literature

on teen courts.

Background

Teen courts are spreading rapidly across

the United States. Many people view them

as a cost-effective alternative to traditional

juvenile court for some young offenders.

Until recently, relatively little information

has been available about how teen courts

operate or how they affect youthful offend-

ers. This Bulletin presents the results of a

national survey of teen courts. The findings

suggest that most teen courts are relatively

small and were established very recently.

The findings also suggest that the most

established teen court programs (i.e., pro-

grams reporting longevity in operations

and/or little financial uncertainty) may be

those that are housed within or closely

affiliated with the traditional juvenile

justice system.

The survey indicates that teen courts

enjoy broad community support. Their

popularity appears to stem from favor-

able media coverage and the high levels

of satisfaction reported by parents, teach-

ers, and youth involved in teen court pro-

grams, rather than from evaluation re-

search showing that teen courts have

beneficial effects on offenders. Little re-

search has been conducted on outcomes

for teen court defendants, although some

studies offer encouraging results. Recent

studies have found that teen court par-

ticipation may be associated with low re-

cidivism rates, improved youth attitudes

toward authority, and increased knowl-

edge of the justice system among youth.

More research is required before claims

about teen court effectiveness can be

substantiated.

The Teen Court

Concept

Teen courts are generally used for

younger juveniles (ages 10 to 15), those

with no prior arrest records, and those

charged with less serious law violations

(e.g., shoplifting, vandalism, and disor-

derly conduct). Typically, young offend-

ers are offered teen court as a voluntary

alternative in lieu of more formal handling

by the traditional juvenile justice system

(see figure 1). Teen courts differ from