The Urban Institute of Washington, DC, is conducting the evaluation. This Fact Sheet summarizes the results of the survey. Most teen courts have relatively small caseloads. Forty-eight percent of the programs indicated that they received fewer than 100 referrals per year. Survey findings indicated that teen courts nationwide handled approximately 65,000 cases in 1998.
Youth serve as attorneys, jurors, clerks, bailiffs, etc.
Youth attorneys present the case to a panel of three youth judges, who decide the appropriate disposition for the defendant. A jury is not used. The youth jury then questions the defendant directly. Most teen courts reported using only one case-processing model for all cases. Most teen courts do not determine the guilt or innocence of youth.