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The Hillsboro Youth Peer Court with its community partners will collaboratively work to hold youth accountable for their actions while educating them about good decision making skills and fostering a sense of community through restorative justice.
 The Hillsboro Youth Peer Court began hearing cases August of 2008, and has since received over 220 new cases. There are several models of courts; however, the Hillsboro Youth Peer Court uses the grand jury or peer model. Each case is presented to a youth jury by an adult; the youth jury questions the defendant directly. The teens perform most or nearly all questioning then leave the court room to deliberate. Community service and specific workshops are emphasized as sanctions. The underlying theory of the teen court is that young offenders respond more positively when judged by their peers than when judged and sentenced in the traditional fashion.
If you would like to learn more about Hillsboro’s Youth Peer Court, click here to download a PDF of our latest executive summary.
Youth courts, also known as teen or peer courts; are one of the fastest growing programs in the community justice movement.
Teen courts do not determine the guilt or innocence of the offenders; offenders must be willing to admit to the charges against them in order to qualify for teen court. They are an alternative or a diversion to the traditional juvenile justice system; empowering the youth and communities to get involved in addressing the early stages of youth delinquency. They impose consequences for first time youthful offenders, allowing them to take responsibility and be held accountable while also making amends for violating the law.
The Hillsboro Youth Peer Court program also offers young people in the community the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process for dealing with juvenile delinquency, while gaining "hands-on" knowledge of the juvenile and criminal justice systems. If peer pressure is used in juvenile delinquency, then according to the experts, it can be used to promote law-abiding behavior.
“In a way, I am glad I got caught, because now I will be able to share my story with others about how the experience has changed my life and that even though young children technically get another chance to live life, once you are 18 everything changes.”
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