Forsyth County Peer Court
The photo above was taken during a training session, and features all members of the Forsyth County Peer Court. The youth thank their sponsors by holding a message of ‘thank you’ in their picture. “Peer court is a good opportunity for youth to get involved in the community, meet new people and learn about the legal system” claims Jessica Stowe, the peer court leader here in Forsyth County. She goes on to say, “We have fourteen trained youth volunteers from the inaugural cohort, who are doing a great job. We look forward to growing this program with the youth of Forsyth County”.
May 11, 2015
Forsyth County Juvenile Court has created a new program here in the county. The program is called peer court, and just as it sounds, the peers of the community are now able to conduct hearings for first time teen offenders in Forsyth County.
Peer court volunteers take on roles, including: the bailiff, the judge, the jury, and both the youth and community advocates. The court will see cases in which the respondent is adjudicated (has admitted to their actions resulting in the charges placed against them). The court’s job is not to find out whether or not the teen is guilty, but it is to decide a proper disposition or punishment, based on the crime. The court will hear cases on; truancy, possession and/or consumption of drugs and/or alcohol, curfew violations, theft, and many other misdemeanors. Dispositions vary on the charge itself, as well as the mitigating and aggravating factors of the situations. The peer court itself serves the community by taking a load off of the Juvenile Court System, and gives the youth in the county an opportunity to take part in the local courts.
The next training session for the Peer Court will begin on June 23 and 25. All youth who are interested in joining should click the link below and apply.
http://forsythcountypeercourt.weebly.com/
“Forsyth County Peer Court.” – Home. Web. 1 May 2015. <http://forsythcountypeercourt.weebly.com/>.
