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ëPEER COURTà PROCESS PROVIDES PROMISING ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM, UC IRVINE RESEARCHER FINDS
Teens Acting as Jurors Prompt Peers to Face Moral Implications of Their Actions
Irvine, Calif., April 22, 1998 ó In the first study focusing on the juvenile "peer court" process, UC Irvine professor Robert Beck has concluded that this recent and innovative approach to combating teen crime appears to be an effective alternative to the more traditional and punitive juvenile justice system.
"Peer courts are part of a broad trend in the area of juvenile delinquency," said Beck, a professor of psychology and social behavior whose study of peer courts is published in the latest issue of Federal Probation. There are some 250 teen courts active in 30 states, he noted.
"There was an early period in juvenile justice where, despite the ideal of rehabilitation, offenders were simply being punished in places like reform schools, and then the idea of diversion came along in which the kids were separated from the court if their crimes were not severe. TheyÃd go into counseling or a variety of therapeutic programs. Peer courts are the newest wave across the country, and they seem to reflect a more permissive approach."
Beck observed 20 cases in peer courts in Orange County, Calif. The public courts met in two-hour sessions after school at various high schools throughout the county and were presided over by a robed juvenile court judge, with high school students (counseled by an attorney advisor) sitting as jurors.
The "defendants," who had committed non-violent crimes such as tagging or driving without a license, were not represented by attorneys and usually were accompanied by a parent.
"Peer court is something truly new," Beck said. "ItÃs like a hybrid. The regular legal court is strictly a punishment court, and diversion is relatively therapeutic. The peer court uses an offenderÃs peers to help him or her understand the crime and deliberate on a constructive punishment."
Although peer courts are hardly traditional, they exhibit the gravity of a true court proceeding.
"The peer jurors in my study took it pretty seriously," Beck said. "ItÃs a really mixed role for them. TheyÃre a jury, yet theyÃre permitted to ask questions of the defendants and their parents. Also, the judges are juvenile court judges doing this on their own time, and theyÃre very good. They maintain a serious tone. Right at the beginning, they say that this is a juvenile court, and what you say here will count. The room is even set up physically like a courtroom. ItÃs meant to be serious."
Reactions among defendants and their parents varied. Some juveniles were relatively uncommunicative, while others used the opportunityósometimes prodded by the juryóto express their motives and feelings about their misbehavior. Some parents instinctively sought to protect their children by speaking up for them, but several parentsà reactions were exactly the opposite.
"ThereÃs the public shame for the parent, being there," Beck explained. "They feel theyÃre on trial, too. They might say to the child, ëLook at the fix youÃve gotten us into.à The parents tended to be extreme: Either they were unhelpful and protective, or they were tougher than the peer jury."
The peer courtÃs reason for being is preventionónot punishment or rehabilitation, Beck said.
"These kids are not hard-core," he said. "These are the people they want to head off early. Clearly, for some of the teens involved, it was meaningful, and you could see that the parents took it very seriously. If the teen reflects, and the parent follows through, then youÃve got a relationship moving forward.
"IÃd say maybe in a third of the cases I saw, the peer court was very effective, and it could well be effective for another third. The recidivism rates have been very low."
The juries typically hand down sentences that include combinations of the following: performing community service, making restitution, participation in future peer courts, interviewing victims and writing an essay, obeying curfews, attending drug and alcohol programs, attending school regularly, seeking or maintaining employment, not associating in negative peer relationships, and participating in specialized programs exposing teens to the realities of the criminal justice systemófor instance, visiting county jail. Sentences cannot include fines or jail time and must be completed within six months.
The peer courts result in what Beck calls "a positive kind of peer pressure."
"It puts these kids in a position in which they have to address the moral implications of their actions, rather than simply being punished or sent to counseling," Beck said. "Traditional courts want kids to show remorse, but thatÃs not enough in peer courts. Those who are before the court feel pressure to examine their lives, to look at what they did wrong and why." ### A complete archive of press releases is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.communications.uci.edu/~inform/
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