HIGHLIGHT CORNER
HIGHLIGHT CORNER
Court is Back in Session: Palm Beach County Youth Court Gives Students a Role in Second Chances
NATALIE I. LANZ JUSTIN L. VIRZI
CARTER J. LEWIS
Palm Beach County Youth Court offers something to students a textbook cannot: the opportunity to stand up, make an argument and help reach a decision that matters to someone else. High school students from throughout the County learn to balance persuasive advocacy with fairness, preparation with adaptability, and confidence with respect for the peers before them.
On Sept. 24, 2026, a group of 65 high school students gathered in the Palm Beach Lakes High School media center to train as prosecutors, defense attorneys, deputies, and jurors for Palm Beach County Youth Court. Soon thereafter, they would put those lessons to work at the Gun Club Courthouse, where Youth Court sessions take place on the first Thursday of each month during the school year. There they would help decide what accountability should look like for another young person.
Youth Court has served Palm Beach County since 1995, but the pandemic interrupted its longstanding tradition of bringing students together in the courtroom. The pause put more than hearings on hold. It interrupted an opportunity for young people to learn about the justice system by participating in it and for the legal community to mentor them along the way.
Bringing the program back has meant reconnecting with local high schools, recruiting volunteers and preparing a new group of student advocates. The September turnout marked an encouraging new chapter: students ready to take their places behind counsel table and in the jury box.
The renewed effort brings together the 15th Judicial Circuit, the School District of Palm Beach County Police Department, the Palm Beach County Sheriff ' s Office, participating high schools from throughout the County, and the Palm Beach County Bar Association ' s Young Lawyers Section.
Their shared goal is to give young people a meaningful second chance and give student volunteers a firsthand understanding of the justice system.
A jury of their peers, quite literally
Youth Court gives the phrase " a jury of your peers " a particularly fitting meaning. Students serve as prosecutors, defense attorneys, deputies and jurors. Volunteer attorneys preside as judges and guide the students.
The proceedings focus on a question that is both practical and challenging: What should a young person do to take responsibility and move forward?
The student defendants, referred through the Juvenile First Offender Program, a pretrial diversion program, have already admitted responsibility for their conduct. The hearing therefore focuses on appropriate sanctions, not guilt. Student advocates question the student defendant, present arguments and recommend consequences. The student jury then deliberates and determines the sanctions.
For eligible first-time offenders referred through the program, successfully completing the sanctions means the case is not forwarded to the State Attorney ' s Office, allowing the young person to avoid an official delinquency record for the offense.
For the students running the courtroom, the responsibility is real, too. They must listen carefully, ask thoughtful questions and weigh another student ' s circumstances before making a decision. Public speaking is only part of the lesson.
Accountability with a path forward
School Police created Palm Beach County Youth Court in 1995 after observing an increase in adolescents entering the juvenile justice system. Its guiding philosophy, " compassionate accountability," pairs consequences with an opportunity to learn from a mistake.
Circuit Judge Samantha Feuer and Jean Marie Middleton, General Counsel for the School District of Palm Beach County, have led the effort to reinvigorate the program following the pandemic interruption, bringing the legal community, educators and law enforcement together to support its return. Middleton, who has been involved with Youth Court for more than 20 years, brings a longstanding commitment to the program and the young people it serves.
" Having participated in Youth Court both as a prosecutor and a judge, I am proud of the reinvigoration of our Youth Court program, which is a voluntary, peerdriven diversion program that allows firsttime juvenile offenders a second chance through accountability, rehabilitation, and personal growth. With mentorship from young lawyers, high school students serve as attorneys and jurors, gaining legal knowledge, public speaking skills, and community service hours. Attorney volunteers give back and obtain pro bono hours teaching students trial practice. The program benefits defendants, students, young lawyers, and the community as a whole. It is a win, win, win all around.”- Judge Samantha Feuer
The Young Lawyers Section ' s formal involvement adds another connection between the courtroom and the community. For young attorneys, the program offers a chance to share the skills they use every day while helping students find their own voices.
The collaboration also gives students an opportunity to work alongside law enforcement officers in an educational setting, building relationships through a shared task.
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PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 17