April 8, 2010
THE NEW YORK BAR FOUNDATION HOSTS INAUGURAL STATEWIDE
NEW YORK STATE YOUTH COURT CONFERENCE
Attendees to Participate in a Series of Workshops
Designed to Promote and Strengthen New York’s Youth Court
System
Youth court advocates from across the State today gathered at the
headquarters of the New York State Bar Association in Albany for the
first-ever statewide New York State Youth Court Conference. Hosted by
The New York Bar Foundation, and co-sponsored by the Center for Court
Innovation, the Association of New York State Youth Courts, and New York
State Courts Access to Justice, the conference consisted of several
workshops designed for participants to learn about ways to support,
advance and strengthen New York’s youth court system.
There are more than 80 youth courts operating throughout New York.
Participating teens are trained to serve as jurors, judges and
attorneys, and hear real-life cases of their peers involving offenses
such as truancy, school fighting, vandalism, marijuana possession and
shoplifting. Sanctions from the courts typically include community
service, letters of apology, essays and counseling. The courts are
overseen by volunteer judges, attorneys, educators, and law enforcement
officials. The courts use positive peer pressure to ensure that young
people who commit even minor offenses give back to the community and
avoid further involvement in the justice system.
“Youth courts play an important part in educating our children
about the significant role that the justice system plays in our
democratic society,” said State Bar President Michael E. Getnick
(Getnick Livingston Atkinson & Priore, LLP of Utica and of counsel
to Getnick & Getnick of New York City). “Participation in
youth courts provides young people with an opportunity to become
actively engaged citizens in their communities and delivers a powerful
message to youth offenders about the negative consequences of their
actions. I want to thank all of the attendees here today for their
commitment toward instructing our youth about the importance of the law
and our courts.”
Attendees at the conference participated in a series of panel
discussions focusing on improving New York’s youth courts. Topics
included opportunities for promoting youth development through active
participation in community service, developing and supporting youth
court mentoring programs, and using social media platforms such as
Facebook, Twitter and blogs to promote the concept of youth courts.
Administrators from the Town of Colonie Youth Court, the Cattaraugus
County Youth Court, and the Warren County Youth Court also shared their
best practices for holding youth court hearings.
“The stakes for juveniles today could not be higher, and youth
courts are a key part of the solution for a juvenile justice system that
is currently in a state of crisis,” said Judith S. Kaye, former
Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of the State of New York and keynote
speaker at the conference. “Youth courts provide the right message
and the right messenger to educate young people about the law and about
the importance of civic participation. I want to commend today’s
conference attendees for all of their hard work and for their interest
in strengthening and expanding the state’s youth courts to make
them a model for New York and the world.”
“The State Bar proudly supports youth courts and their mission
of providing a juvenile justice alternative that is operated for and by
young people,” State Bar President-Elect Stephen P. Younger
(Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP of New York City) told
conference attendees. “The young people who participate in youth
courts encounter a life-changing experience. We applaud the efforts of
judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officials, educators and, of
course, young people who make it possible for youth courts to be so
successful in giving young offenders a second chance.”
Younger also announced at the conference that one of his first
initiatives upon becoming State Bar President on June 1 will be to
assemble a Special Committee on Youth Courts, chaired by Judge Kaye,
that will “tap the expertise of people who have both a heart for
our young people and the determination to help New York’s youth
courts meet their important mission.”
During the conference, Foundation Board Director and Fellows Chair,
Susan B. Lindenauer, presented three grant awards to the Center for
Court Innovation. The grants will be used to provide funding to
expand an existing initiative to develop a recommended practices manual
to support New York State's network of Youth Courts; for the Staten
Island Youth Court, a leadership development program that provides
opportunities for local teens to hear cases involving low-level offenses
committed by youth; and for the Youth Justice Board which seeks to
influence juvenile justice through a model participatory democracy
program that brings the voice of well-informed youth directly to
policy-makers.
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Founded in 1876, the 77,000-member New York State Bar Association is
the official statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the
largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. The State
Bar’s programs and activities have continuously served the public
and improved the justice system for more than 130 years.
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