Teen courts are authorized by law Law is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. Laws can shape or reflect politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets. Property law defines rights and in many states in America. The terms teen court, youth court, and peer court are used interchangeably. Their purpose is to provide an alternative disposition for juveniles The term minor is used to refer to a person who is under the age in which one legally assumes adulthood and is legally granted rights afforded to adults in society. Depending on the jurisdiction and application, this age may vary, but is usually marked at either 12, 16, 18, 20, or 21. Specifically, the status of minor is defined by the age of who have committed a delinquent A delinquent is a young person who fails to do that which is required by law or by duty when such failure is minor in nature. Breaks rules and causes trouble act, have committed a minor offense A summary offence, also known as a petty crime, is a criminal act in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded with summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment, or have been charged with a misdemeanor A misdemeanor, or misdemeanour in many common law legal systems, is a "lesser" criminal act. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions . Many misdemeanors are punished with monetary fines, and are otherwise eligible for diversion A diversion program in the criminal justice system is a program run by a police department, court, a district attorney's office, or outside agency designed to enable offenders of criminal law to avoid criminal charges and a criminal record. The purposes of diversion are generally thought to include relief to the courts, police department and. Depending on their training, community support, and agreements with traditional court systems, most teen or youth courts are recognized as valid, legal venues for the process of hearing cases In law, a hearing is a proceeding before a court or other decision-making body or officer, such as a government agency, sentencing In law, a sentence forms the final act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence generally involves a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime. Those imprisoned for multiple crimes, will serve a consecutive sentence , a concurrent and sentence fulfillment.
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Court Structure
Teen courts are staffed by youth volunteers Volunteer and Volunteers redirect here. For other meanings of Volunteer, Volunteers, and Voluntary, see Volunteer who serve in various capacities within the program, trained and acting in the roles of jurors A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to judge whether an accused person is not guilty or guilty of a crime. (There is no such verdict as 'innocent'), lawyers A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political and social authority, and deliver, bailiffs A bailiff is a governor or custodian (cf. bail); a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offices and duties vary greatly, clerks A court clerk is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining the records of a court. Another duty is to administer oaths to witnesses, jurors, and grand jurors. Traditionally, the clerk also was the custodian of the court's seal, which is used to authenticate copies of the court's orders, judgments and other records and judges A judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead who presides over a court of law, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is like an umpire in a game and conducts the trial impartially and in an open court. The. Teen courts usually function in cooperation with local juvenile courts A juvenile court or young offender ' is a court of law having special authority to try and pass judgments for crimes committed by children or adolescents who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal systems, crimes committed by children and minors are treated differently and differentially regarding the same crimes committed by and youth detention centers A youth detention center, also known as juvenile hall or, more colloquially as juvie, is a secure residential facility for young people, often termed juvenile delinquents, awaiting court hearings and/or placement in long-term care facilities and programs. Juveniles are held in detention centers to ensure appearance in court and to protect public, middle and high schools, and/or community organizations such as the YMCA The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide movement of more than 45 million members from 124 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs. Founded on June 6, 1844 in London, England by George Williams, the goal of the organization was putting Christian principles into practice, achieved by developing "a. Most teen courts are sentencing courts in which the offender has already admitted guilt or pled no contest.
Many teen courts operate much like a traditional court A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. In both common law and civil law legal systems, courts are the central means for dispute, holding hearings before a judge and jury with the jury deliberating to determine an appropriate disposition. Other courts employ different structures, such as a judge-panel model which includes a panel of 3 to 6 youth judges who collectively hear, deliberate, and sentence the offender.
Often, sentences will involve the defendant's making restitution The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery. It is to be contrasted with the law of compensation, which is the law of loss-based recovery. Obligations to make restitution and obligations to pay compensation are each a type of legal response to events in the real world. When a court orders restitution it orders the defendant to give to someone harmed or inconvenienced by their actions, or creating an informational awareness project about health At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization , in 1948, health was defined as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity", safety Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be considered non-desirable. This can take the form, respect Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity , and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected (e.g., "I have great respect for her judgment"). It can also be conduct in accord with a specific, or another topic relevant to the offense. One of the more common sentences is community service. In many jury-based programs it is mandatory that the offender serve on a teen court jury. In some cases, educational workshops are required as part of the sentence, usually in cases involving alcohol In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl functional group (-O or drug A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage charges.[1]
Youth volunteers may be eligible for school or community service Volunteers may provide community service, however, not everyone who provides community service is seen as a volunteer, because some people who provide community service are not doing it of their own free will; they are compelled to do so by: credits through their schools, and community awards such as the President's Volunteer Service Award. Adult volunteers serve as trainers, advisors and coordinators of the teen courts; some courts have a small paid staff.
Principles & Results
Teen or youth courts provide an alternative court system through which juvenile offenders Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction. Individual human societies may each define crime and crimes differently. While every crime violates the law, not every violation of the law counts as a crime; for example: breaches of contract and of other civil law may rank as " can be heard and judged by their peers A peer group is a social group consisting of people who are equal in such respects as age, education or social class. Peer groups are an informal primary group of people who share a similar or equal status and who are usually of roughly the same age, tended to travel around and interact within the social aggregate Members of a particular peer. Most teen courts have strict guidelines for youth volunteers who participate in the sentencing process, which generally includes training The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of technology . In addition to the basic training, a modified bar exam In Brazil there is a bar examination that occurs in each State in March, September and January. These examinations are organized by Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil, the Brazilian Bar association. The exam is divided in two stages - the first one consists of 100 multiple choice questions covering all the disciplines learned at the University, where, peer mentoring and compliance with a code of conduct A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of or proper practices for an individual or organization. Related concepts include ethical codes and honor codes. Many youth courts establish a youth bar association A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both or ethics Ethics is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good vs. bad, noble vs. ignoble, right vs. wrong, and matters of justice, love, peace, and virtue body which helps to set guidelines A guideline is any document that aims to streamline particular processes according to a set routine. By definition, following a guideline is never mandatory . Guidelines are an essential part of the larger process of governance for ethical and fair procedure.
Because cases heard by teen courts are real cases, participants in teen court programs are required to sign an oath An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow of confidentiality Confidentiality is an ethical principle associated with several professions . In ethics, and (in some places) in law and alternative forms of legal dispute resolution such as mediation, some types of communication between a person and one of these professionals are "privileged" and may not be discussed or divulged to third parties. In regarding any information which comes to their knowledge in the course of the teen court case presentation.
State-approved teen courts implement restorative justice Restorative justice is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of victims and offenders, instead of the need to satisfy the abstract principles of law or the need of the community to exact punishment. Victims are given an active role in a dispute and offenders are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, "to repair the and attempt to reintegrate the youth offender to the community while sending appropriate messages to the offender regarding unacceptable behavior. The basic principles of restorative justice are community protection, competency development, and accountability. This system seeks to address the root causes of juvenile offenses and to reduce recidivism Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior. It is also known as the percentage of former prisoners who are rearrested. The recidivism rates for standard programs in several states range from 6%-9%, which is less than half of the traditional recidivism rate for juvenile offenders, which hovers around 20%.
Restorative justice principles require the offender to make amends to the victim and/or the community and provide opportunities for victims and community members to participate in the juvenile justice A juvenile court or young offender court is a court of law having special authority to try and pass judgments for crimes committed by children or adolescents who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal systems, crimes committed by children and minors are treated differently and differentially regarding the same crimes committed process, providing valued input in decision making Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternatives. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice. Because of the active role the victim plays, qualitative assessments can be made into victim impact and victim satisfaction.
See also
- Arbitration Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, wherein the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons (the "arbitrators", "arbiters" or "arbitral tribunal"), by whose decision (the "award") they agree to be bound. It
- Conflict resolution research Conflict resolution is any reduction in the severity of a conflict. It may involve conflict management, in which the parties continue the conflict but adopt less extreme tactics; settlement, in which they reach agreement on enough issues that the conflict stops; or removal of the underlying causes of the conflict. The latter is sometimes called “
- Creative Peacebuilding Creative Peacebuilding is the larger name for creative therapies being used to create peace, within individuals, groups, and societies. These therapies are used with many different demographic groups and in various types of situations. Although used primarily to overcome violence, creative peacebuilding can also be used as a preventative measure
- Dispute resolution One could theoretically include violence or even war as part of this spectrum, but dispute resolution practitioners do not usually do so; violence rarely ends disputes effectively, and indeed, often only escalates them.[citation needed] Some individuals, notably Joseph Stalin, have stated that all problems emanate from man, and absent man, no
- Family therapy Family therapy, also referred to as couple and family therapy and family systems therapy, is a branch of psychotherapy that works with families and couples in intimate relationships to nurture change and development. It tends to view change in terms of the systems of interaction between family members. It emphasizes family relationships as an
- Mediation Mediation, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement (facilitative mediation). In some cases, mediators may express a view on what might be a fair or reasonable settlement, generally where all the parties
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is an office of the United States Department of Justice and a component of the Office of Justice Programs
- Restorative Justice Restorative justice is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of victims and offenders, instead of the need to satisfy the abstract principles of law or the need of the community to exact punishment. Victims are given an active role in a dispute and offenders are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, "to repair the
- Youth crime Juvenile delinquency refers to children who act against the law. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not all of which can be applied to the causes of youth crime. Youth crime is a major issue and
- Youth justice in England and Wales
- Youth voice CERD · CEDAW · CDE · ILO C111 · ILO C100 · ILO C169 · Protocol No. 12 ECHR
External links
- National Association of Youth Courts - comprehensive website on youth courts (established in 2007), Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore , is an independent city and the largest city and cultural center of the U.S. state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City in order to distinguish it from surrounding Baltimore County. Founded in.
- Alaska Youth Court Association website
- Arizona Teen Court Association website
- Florida Association of Teen Courts website
- New York State Youth Courts Association website
- Youth Courts in Law-Related Education - from the Education Resources Information Center Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education, Bloomington, Indiana.
References
Categories: Court systems | Youth | Dispute resolution
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Thu, 15 Jul 2010 10:06:40 GMT+00:00
This is North Devon The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at North Devon Youth Court on Monday, July 12. The court heard that the boy, ...
Q. Do you think the judgement was justified & can the UK learn something from this
Asked by yoyodda - Wed Apr 1 04:35:09 2009 - - 6 Answers - 0 Comments
A. Justification depend on circumstances and back ground of judgment. If it is just to curb Religious practice, then it is absolutely un justified. Here in USA and Canada, Hindues walking around on workplaces with spot of mysterious mud spot on their fore head, no one raise question.
Answered by Believer - Wed Apr 1 04:58:03 2009
