Subject: Hardin County Teen Court

Message: Hardin County Teen Court Invitation To All Area High School Students & Parents (August 19th) Open House, Mock Trial and Teen Court Registration Thursday, August 19, 2010 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Hardin County Justice Center 120 East Dixie Avenue Elizabethtown Ky 42701 Our new Teen Court Year is fast approaching. We welcome high school students from all Hardin County, Fort Knox, Elizabethtown, Bardstown, and Nelson County schools: public, private and home-schooled to be a part of the program. Teen Court is a chance for local high school students to act as attorneys, bailiffs, clerks, and jurors in the sentencing phase of actual juvenile cases. The philosophy of Teen Court is that if peer pressure can be used to exert a negative influence, it likewise can be used as a positive force. Those who work with youth know just how instrumental peer pressure can be in the decision-making process of all young minds. Teen Court is based upon the premise that most young people want to do what is right when making decisions. Even those who may make the wrong choice due to external factors such as peer pressure are often gratified to learn that they have an opportunity to make amends. What better way to impress upon a young offender than to be judged by a jury of his/her peers? I have found that often the peer pressure in this court setting will have a more immediate and meaningful effect upon the individual than the more traditional juvenile justice approach. The message given by a peer jury will long be remembered by those seeking to fit within a group and be accepted. Kimberly Winkenhofer Shumate Hardin District Judge

Added By: on 7/29/2010 10:33:51 AM