High school students are constantly looking for opportunities to expand their horizons and join new extracurricular activities.  Whether to find an additional hobby or further their volunteering experiences, a great opportunity for teenagers in Lake County is to apply for NICASA’s Teen Court.

Teen Court is a program offered in towns like Gurnee and Round Lake in order to provide an alternative to the criminal justice system for juvenile offenses.  In the traditional court a defendant may be referred to a juvenile center for the misdemeanors; meanwhile, in Teen Court, students cooperate to design a constructive sentence, ensuring that the juvenile and his/her family get a beneficial life lesson.

As a member of Teen Court, jurors come to their assigned courthouse one time a month, which is the minimum.  The courthouses are often conveniently located at the police station in the given town, and the jurors are encouraged to attend other court dates as well.  Jurors may sign up to be an attorney, either prosecuting or defense, clerk, or foreperson after which an orientation session allows student volunteers and their parents to further understand the program. With the juror training session, Teen Court members learn a vast amount of information regarding the specialized system and how to perform their duties.

By Friday, February 24, 2017 at 4:00 pm, return a completed application to Nanci Radford ([email protected]) for the great opportunity to be a member of the Teen Court program.  Please encourage your friends ages 14 to 18 to consider the opportunity, contact Ms. Radford, and apply.