Anchorage Youth Court is just one of more than 900 programs in 48 states, according the National Youth Court Web site at http://www.youthcourt.net. Its education component has earned it several national awards, and it was one of four courts in the nation included in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s study “The Impact of Teen Court on Young Offenders,” conducted by the Urban Institute in 2002. Continue reading Anchorage Daily News – Teen Volunteers Have Held Youth Courts for 15 Years

Jeffrey A. Butts, director of the Program on Youth Justice for the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan Washington research and policy group, said juvenile courts in recent years have been moving toward more open proceedings. “The consequences are usually less severe than people fear,” he said, citing Utah, which opened its juvenile court system 10 years ago. “Everyone was worried about the rush of publicity. Usually that doesn’t happen.” Butts said opening juvenile courts can serve to make systems more accountable because they are under scrutiny. But it also allows the press to focus on the most sensational cases and the worst crimes — without taking on the more complex job of looking at how well the system serves youths and families. Continue reading Courier Journal – Newspapers Sue to Gain Access to Juvenile Court

In regard to crime, Butts also is skeptical that Cosby’s appeal to personal responsibility will have much effect, if only because it’s highly selective—mere weeks before Cosby launched his barrage against the black poor, he was spotted sitting in the courtroom, in support of Martha Stewart. “Of course people’s behavior is something they choose, but it would be unfair to think about this only in reference to street crime,” says Butts. “If I say ‘crime,’ most people think of someone sticking a gun in their face. But they should also think Ken Lay, Martha Stewart, Halliburton. But no one preaches to them about personal responsibility.” Continue reading The Village Voice – Mushmouth reconsidered…

But the number of cities and counties every year with teen court programs has steadily risen since the issue was first tracked in 1998, according to a study conducted by the Urban Institute and financed through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Continue reading Statesmen Journal – Keizer Retries for Peer Court