Applications are available at every high school in the county. Preference is given to 11th graders and then to 10th grade. Parental permission is required. Every application that is handed in with signed parental permission is accepted. There is limited space for training, that is why preference is given to the older students.
Training begins in the spring.
The material that has to be covered ranges from legal issues to moral issues. Juvenile and adult judges, police officers, attorneys, college professors, community professionals, and the Youth Court Director are all involved in the training of the members. We do give trainees a second opportunity to pass the exam. After all the requirements are made, the trainees are given a graduation complete with a swearing-in ceremony, where they are all sworn to uphold the Youth Court principles as well as the laws of the community. After this ceremony, the trainees are no longer referred to as trainees, but are now full fledge Youth Court Members and begin immediately to serve their community as judges, lawyers, clerks, and bailiffs.