Alaska Youth Court Aids in Family Restoration

 

This guest post is from Michaela Ryan, Regent Family Law student, and soon to be judicial clerk for youth courts in Alaska:

 

Youth courts (also known as teen courts) are a part of the juvenile justice system in which students serve as defense attorneys, prosecutor, judges, and bailiffs in cases involving their peers. Youth courts assist students in learning about the rule of law, accountability, civic engagement, and legal education, typically for first time offenders. Positive per pressure is used to help the students learn about police, probation, and court administration. The defendant’s peers will also determine the punishment, ranging from classes, letters of apology, in addition to community service.  

 

While several states have implemented youth courts, Alaska is the only state that has a statute governing youth courts (Alaska Statute 47.12.400), which authorizes youth courts to “hear, determine and dispose of cases involving a minor whose alleged act….constitutes a violation of a state law that is a misdemeanor…” Minors who participate in the youth court process get their record sealed and it may not be used in the future.  Alaska’s rationale for youth courts is for diversion that allows first time offenders to avoid the regular court system, and for the youth to emerge without a criminal record.

 

Youth courts in Alaska have proven to be effective, with findings that they can create social-emotional growth for both defendants and volunteers.  A 2014 study in Anchorage, Alaska found that Anchorage experiences less juvenile crime as a result of the local youth court. Juveniles that were not tried in the youth court were twice as likely to reoffend within one year. It is also of great importance to the defendants to not have a criminal record, making it easier to obtain employment.  Research has shown that youth have a recidivism rate of 16% after youth court, compared to 39% handled in regular juvenile court.

 

There are also great benefits for the students who volunteer for youth court. The students are able to learn about the justice system, explore career options, meet role models, practice public speaking, and understand different perspectives, as well as understanding the importance of being a law-abiding citizen.

 

Finally, society is benefitted through use of these special youth courts. This is for two reasons: 1) a reduction in crime, (property savings, lower court costs, lower incarceration costs) 2) an increase in the value of volunteer participation (value of adult and youth volunteer time).  Alaska currently has 9 different youth courts across the state.  All of these elements working together provide better pathways for youth to be restored to their families rather than incarcerated in unhelpful ways, and for the restoration of stronger families. 

 

 

Youth court networks and coalitions across the United States have increased from five in 1997 to more than 20 in 2018. With the many benefits for defendants, volunteers, and communities, youth courts should be expected to be implemented in more states.

 

Learn more about Youth Courts and their implementation around the world through these scholarly articles:

 

Lynne Marie Kohm, Teen Courts: Empowerment through Child Participation, in International Perspectives and Empirical Findings on Child Participation (Tali Gal and Benedetta Duramy Eds.) (Oxford U. Press 2015).

Lynne Marie Kohm and Alison R. Haefner, Empowering Love and Respect for Child Offenders Through Therapeutic Jurisprudence: The Teen Courts Example, Sociology and Anthropology 4(4): 212-221 (2016).