BIO

Samyuktha Sridhar is a first-year student at Florida State University in the Honors Program pursuing a degree in political science. With experience working as a Teen Attorney for the Teen Court Program in Duval County, she decided to pursue the role of research assistant on a project that assessed the program's effectiveness. With a passion for both law and public policy, Samyuktha plans to practice constitutional law in the future.

Assessing the Impact of North Carolina Teen Court on Recidivism

Abstract

Teen courts are a type of diversionary program used in lieu of the standard legal system when dealing with juveniles. Teen courts are primarily intended for first-time or low-level offenders and serve to interrupt any developing patterns of criminal behavior. Teen courts use informal processing and sanctions in place of standard procedure to deter future offenses. This program is aimed to provide juveniles with the opportunity to reform by connecting them more specifically with their crime. The sanctions received not only punish the juvenile for the crime, but they also encourage them to restore the damages their crime has caused to the community. The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of North Carolina Teen Court on recidivism by comparing juveniles who successfully completed the Teen Court program with those that were diverted to some other program. The second comparison is conducted between juveniles who successfully completed Teen Court with those that received no diversion plan and went through the traditional court system. With the effects of these comparisons combined, a thorough assessment of the effectiveness of Teen Court compared to other diversionary options will be made. As conclusions are drawn from the data acquired from both quantitative and qualitative analyses, an understanding of the juvenile justice system can be solidified and used to improve the system based on how it affects juvenile delinquents.

Keywords: Honors, University, Samyuktha