Bellevue Youth Court

09/23/2016

Hi everyone!
We hope everyone has been doing well with the start of the school year! We will be holding our annual Bellevue Youth Court Open House and Training very soon. Our Open House will be on September 37th, at Bellevue City Hall from 5:30pm-7:00pm. Regardless of whether you are a new member or returning member, we highly encourage you to come and explore the opportunities Youth Court has to offer you!
Our training is on October 11th; more details to come later.

Hope to see everyone there! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us on our page or [email protected]

04/30/2015

Hello everyone!
As we near the end of the school year, we are also approaching Youth Link's 25th Anniversary and the time for the annual Community Leadership Awards.
You can nominate one of your peers for one of the many Youth Leadership Awards, or more specifically, you can choose to nominate them for the Norm Maleng Award.
As some of you may remember, Norm Maleng was the King County Prosecutor, who played a large and crucial role in launching Bellevue Youth Court. His legacy includes the work we do through Bellevue Youth Court. Now is your opportunity to nominate a young person in Bellevue Youth Court that exemplifies the hard work and dedication he is also remembered for.

Submit your nomination by Friday, May 8, 2015 so we can honor an outstanding teen who has been active and involved in Bellevue Youth Court! Nominations can be made at http://www.youthlink.com

02/11/2015

Hello!
We hope that you all are having a good 2015 so far.
This month, instead of having a Youth Court session, we will be inviting special guest speaker Detective Amanda Jensen from the Bellevue Police Department, to give a special consumer awareness presentation.
We highly encourage you all to attend this, especially because shoplifting is one of the most common misdemeanors we encounter in Bellevue Youth Court!

The presentation will be on Tuesday, February 24th from 6-7PM at City Hall (Council Chambers). Everyone attending will receive a special surprise, so please RSVP your attendance.

Hope to see you all there!

09/28/2014

Bellevue Youth Court recently presented itself to the Bellevue City Council in honor of National Youth Court Month! We also honored Judge Schapira for her work and dedication with us, and we wish her the best in the future!

09/05/2014

09/04/2014

Here are some important dates to keep in mind, for both returning and new members!

Monday, September 15, 2014 - 7:45 pm: Bellevue City Council
September is National Youth Court Month and as such, we will make a presentation to the Bellevue City Council about the great work that Youth Courts and in particular, Bellevue Youth Court does. We would like as many as possible to attend.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 5:00pm-7:00pm: Bellevue Youth Court Open House
Youth Link and Youth Court will hold their annual Open House together at Bellevue City Hall on Tuesday, September 16th. This is a fantastic opportunity to participate and have your friends and family learn about and/or join Youth Court.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014 - 5:30pm-7:30pm: Bellevue Youth Court Training
Bellevue Youth Court will hold a two-hour training on Bellevue Youth Court, which will include a court hearing. If you plan to participate in Bellevue Youth Court this year, attending the training is required. The training will be in Bellevue City Council Chambers.

Hope to see you all there!

09/04/2014

Our first well-known, respected adviser of the Bellevue Youth Court is Judge Carol Schapira!

My Years with Bellevue Youth Court:
I felt a great deal of joy to be a small part of the launch of Bellevue Youth Court. Helping the court to grow has been one of the best experiences of my judicial career. I was lucky that because of my assignment to our Juvenile Court, I was asked to volunteer to work with BYC in the last few months before startup. We were blessed by a very supportive City Council and School Board in Bellevue, a national leader in youth courts and restorative justice (Margaret Fisher), a terrific student Link Board, very committed staff (Helena and Glenda, with the Parks Department, and skilled probation officers), some experienced support and training from other youth courts, and excellent community support. Over time, we have developed important relationships with prosecutors and private attorneys who have helped train and mentor advocates.
I really enjoy my chances to train participants each year, and over the last 5 years, I am very proud of the development of students from jurors, to court official and advocate. The important principles of rehabilitation are essential for a good outcome, in real courts and diversion courts. It is so wonderful when the respondent returns to do jury service, or after satisfying all conditions, has a completion hearing with the case dismissed. I try to attend most hearings. I don’t need to be there, but I like to show my support for the talented participants and the courageous respondents who have admitted wrongdoing and are willing to trust their peers.
Jurors are at the heart of our justice system. In juvenile court, jurors are not permitted, so this is a unique experience. Both in Bellevue Youth Court and nationally, we have been able to reduce recidivism (repeat offenders) and provide an important learning experience for all who attend.
I can’t wait for the new school year to begin! I hope to see you all at the Open House in September, National Youth Court Month. Spread the news to your friends and family.

09/04/2014

It's September, which also means it's National Youth Court Month. To celebrate, we will be posting an "Attorney of the Month" Feature every month, so stay posted and let's take this month to appreciate how far Bellevue Youth Court has come with all of these wonderful individuals!

06/25/2014

Great article from NPR covering Teen Court. Check it out!
http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/06/24/324865857/new-approaches-to-discipline-strive-to-keep-kids-out-of-jail

Teen courts and restorative justice are focused on cutting off the "school-to-prison pipeline."

06/24/2014

Tomorrow marks a new session of Bellevue Youth Court at 6:00pm! Come and observe the happenings of a real live court case, but remember the confidentiality agreement. Hope to see everyone there!

02/08/2012

Bellevue Youth Court will hold an Advocacy Training on Thursday, Feb 16, from 6-7:30pm at Bellevue City Hall, Room 1E – 112.

This training is open to anyone who has completed jury training. Led by Judge Carol Schapira and Attorney Mentors, current youth court jurors can learn to serve as an advocate, judge, bailiff or clerk. RSVP to Helena if you're planning to attend!