Teen courts and law-related education share many goals. Teen courts do the same. Each teen court case teaches both the student volunteers from local secondary schools and the offenders about the rules or laws that were broken, the consequences of the offenses, and how due process is observed by court procedure. In addition, the volunteers and offenders learn about key LRE concepts of justice, power, equality, property, and liberty. Teen courts also help to foster important values, attitudes, and beliefs similar to those of LRE generally.
Participants voluntarily commit their time to teen courts in the pursuit of justice.
Student volunteers demonstrate a belief in active and responsible participation in civic life, a respect for the rights of the offender and victim, and an appreciation for a legitimate response to societal conflicts through assigning appropriate responses to the offenses in question. Participants are real offenders in real situations, and volunteers must therefore learn the discipline of confidentiality. Teen court participants must weigh conflicting points of view and decide a just and appropriate sentence. They see first-hand the consequences of delinquent behavior. Teen court offenders learn through their own sentences the importance of community service.