Teen Court/Peer Jury: A Positive Model of Peer Pressure

• NCJ Number: 173695
• Journal: Pennsylvania Progress Volume: 3 Issue: 5 Dated: November 1996 Pages: -
• Author(s): M Clouser
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 6 pages
• Grant Number(s): 92/93-J-01-4608
• Sponsoring Agency: Pennsylvania Cmssn on Crime and Delinquency
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper recognizes the initiative and success of the four Pennsylvania counties that have designed and continue to operate Teen Court and/or Peer Jury programs.

Abstract

The programs, most commonly known as Teen Courts or Peer Juries, use the influence of positive peer pressure to help divert first-time and nonviolent juvenile offenders away from further delinquent activities. Based upon the principle of personal responsibility for actions committed, offenders wishing to participate in a Teen Court or Peer Jury program must first admit guilt for the charged offenses. In a Peer Jury model, the teen jury then decides appropriate punishments based on the nature of the offense committed. A Teen Court incorporates the use of teen prosecution and defense attorneys to bring out aggravating and mitigating circumstances that may influence the jury in the determination of an appropriate disposition. Pennsylvania counties have been experimenting with this promising program model since 1982 when the State's first Peer Jury program was established in Erie County. In 1992 the Juvenile Advisory Committee of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency funded the development of the State's first Teen Court in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. Each of the Peer Jury and Teen Court programs described faced many of the same issues in implementation, with concerns ranging from how to best select juvenile offenders and youth volunteers for participation to the best mechanisms for reinforcing confidentiality requirements. This paper discusses these issues and provides examples of the procedures used by each county to overcome these obstacles to success. Dispositions by Peer Juries encompass restitution, curfews, community service, written essays, and apologies to victims. The paper concludes with a discussion of the best mechanisms for addressing confidentiality concerns and prospects for the future.