Huntington Youth Court is a program that does it all: restorative justice, community service, and experience for future lawyers. As a local justice program for youth run by youth, it’s an invaluable resource for the community.
Youth court takes cases of respondents under eighteen who violate their school’s code of conduct or their first misdemeanor. Their case is heard in a trial with high school volunteers acting as lawyers, the jury, the bailiff, and the judge. Then an appropriate restorative justice-based sentence is given to the respondent.
This year, the program hopes to continue expanding under its new director, Manuel Zelaya Jr. I decided to interview him to learn more.
Q: What first got you interested in the justice system?
A: When I was young, I observed the police, investigators, and forensic team process of a crime scene near my house. Observing this in real time was very interesting. So, I took criminal justice and law classes in my sophomore year of high school.
Q: Did you participate in law-related activities when you were younger?
A: Yes, my school had a lot of options. In one of my classes, taught by Mrs. Perri, we had a field trip to the Nassau County police department. In 11th grade, I was part of a business law class, which taught me how the legal system works. We also did a workshop with lawyers and judges.
Q: How did you get involved in Huntington Youth Court / the youth court system?
A: I first worked with a program that HYC utilizes called Project Cast. I worked with at-risk youth, keeping them out of trouble. I was interested in a director position since I previously took the kids to youth court, it was a good transition.
Q: What were your first impressions of the program?
A: I fell in love with it. I was very impressed by the volunteers in their roles. I wondered why there weren’t more of them around. One of the big things is there are other youth courts, but they are slowly slowing or shutting down. Luckily ours is going strong with support from the community.
Q: Do you have any specific goals in mind for HYC?
A: I want to invite more volunteers, as many as possible, we’ll never turn anybody away. We also hope to open the program to other schools as an alternative to suspension. We’re creating monthly community service programs too. Hopefully, we will have a Spanish-speaking Youth Court by spring of next year.
Q: Are there plans to open HYC to take cases from other districts?
A: Yes, we’re hoping to reach out to Northport High School and other surrounding districts.
Q: Any announcements about the program?
A: There will be an open house on November 16th, a mock trial, open to anyone interested. We’re also reopening our newsletter!
Image courtesy of Kate Karp.
