Resolutions passed
RESOLUTIONS PASSED
American Bar Association (Both House of Delegates and Young Lawyers Division), American Probation and Parole Association, Constitutional Rights Foundation,
and Street Law, Inc.
Supporting GLOBAL YOUTH JUSTICE Movement
Youth/Teen/Student/Peer Court and Peer Jury
Youth Justice and Juvenile Justice Diversion Programs
Record 2,100+ in Justice, School, and Community Settings
48 States, 30+ Tribes, and 12 Countries.
American Bar Association
HOUSE OF DELEGATES
Resolution Adopted by the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association in Support of the Establishment and Expansion of Youth/Teen/Student/Peer Court and Peer Jury Diversion Programs.
WHEREAS, the American Bar Association (ABA) urges federal, state, territorial, and local governments to create and provide appropriate support for Youth/Teen/Student/Peer Court and Peer Jury Diversion Programs;
WHEREAS, through a nondiscriminatory peer-driven restorative justice process involving family members, diverts youth from the formal consequences of juvenile court petitions, proceedings, adjudications, or juvenile justice sanctions;
WHEREAS, (A) Providing civic education for all participants that builds respect for their rule of law and the legal process, including mentorship and community service opportunities;
WHEREAS, (B) Permitting program referrals from prosecutors, probation departments and police, as well as from the courts, and not limiting program eligibility to first-time offenders;
WHEREAS, (C) Encouraging judges, lawyers, law students, civic organizations and businesses to recruit youth volunteers and to provide training, other assistance and support to create, sustain and promote programs; and
WHEREAS, (D) Supporting national, state, and local research and evaluation on all aspects of these programs.
END
AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION
Resolution Adopted by their Board of Directors in Support of the Establishment and Expansion of Youth/Teen/Student/Peer Court and Peer Jury Diversion Programs.
WHEREAS, youth courts—also known as teen courts, peer courts and student courts— are one of the fastest growing crime intervention and prevention programs in the nation;
WHEREAS, youth volunteers, under the supervision of adult volunteers, act as judges, jurors, clerks, bailiffs, and counsel for youth who are charged with minor delinquent and status offenses, problem behaviors or minor infractions of school rules, and who consent to participate in the program;
WHEREAS, youth courts engage the community in a partnership with the juvenile justice system, youth programs, schools, attorneys, judges, and police departments working together to form and expand diversionary programs responding to juvenile crime and problem behavior;
WHEREAS, youth courts increase the awareness of delinquency issues and problem behavior on a local level and mobilize community members, including youth, to take an active civic role in addressing the problem. Youth courts exemplify the practices of empowering youth through involvement in developing community solutions to problems, teaching decision-making, and applying leadership skills;
WHEREAS, youth courts design effective program services and sentencing options that hold youth accountable, repair the harm to the victim and the community, and contribute to public safety;
WHEREAS, youth courts promote attitudes, activities, and behaviors that create and maintain safe and vital communities where crime and delinquency cannot flourish; and youth court practices provide a foundation for crime prevention and community justice initiatives, as well as embrace the principles of restorative justice.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Probation and Parole Association hereby recognizes the importance of youth courts to our communities and recommends that probation, parole, and community supervision agencies support and assist in the formation and expansion of diversionary programs, known as youth courts.
END
STREET LAW, INC.
Resolution Adopted by their Board of Directors in Support of the Establishment and Expansion of Youth/Teen/Student/Peer Court and Peer Jury Diversion Programs.
Whereas, Youth/Teen/Student/Peer Courts offer young first-time, nonviolent offenders who admit their guilt and are offered an opportunity to be sentenced by their peers and to receive a consequence that reflects the ideals of and educates the offenders in restorative justice;
Whereas, police officers, probation officers, and juvenile court judges with a heavy docket an innovative alternative to dismissing less serious causes and sending first-time offenders outside of the formal juvenile justice proceedings;
Whereas, young volunteers the chance to serve as judges, jurors, bailiffs, and clerks a coordinated effort to hold their peers accountable with balanced sentences that repair harm done to the offender’s victim, the community, and to the offender himself or herself.
Whereas, Youth Courts build ties between the justice system, members of the community, and youth; an awareness in youth of the law and consequences of delinquency; a type of community where youth can contribute to society and demonstrate democracy to action;
Therefore, be it Resolved that we commend, support, and assist those involved in Youth Courts and others developing Youth Courts.
END
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION
Resolution Adopted by the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association in Support of the Establishment and Expansion of Youth/Teen/Student/Peer Court and Peer Jury Diversion Programs.
RESOLVED, That the Constitutional Rights encourages schools, youth programs, attorneys, judges, and police departments to work together to form and expand diversionary programs, known as Youth Courts/Teen Courts, where juveniles, under the supervision of representatives from the education and legal communities, determine sentencing for first time juvenile offenders who are charged with misdemeanors or minor infractions of school rules and consent to participate in the program, recognizing than an important sentencing option – community services – serves both the offender and the community.
END
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
Young Lawyers Division
Resolution Adopted by the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association in Support of the Establishment and Expansion of Youth/Teen/Student/Peer Court and Peer Jury Diversion Programs.
RESOLVED, That the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association (ABA) encourages states and territorial legislatures, court systems, and bar associations to support and assist in the formation and expansion of diversionary programs, known as Youth Courts, where youth/juvenile participants, under the supervision of volunteer attorney’s and advisory staff, act as judges, jurors, clerks, bailiffs, and counsel for the first-time juvenile offenders who are charged with misdemeanors and consent to the program.
END
