The Ontario County Youth Court is starting to recruit new members. Youth Court is a completely voluntary alternative to the standard traditional judicial system. It is for young people who may have committed misdemeanors or certain violations. This program began in New York from a federal grant. It was designed to get students from any school district in grades 9 through 12 involved in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency prevention, OJJDP, to relieve some pressure off town courts. Now, it is a program that is run all over the country.
   The program takes place during the evenings, typically in town courts. It is in different locations within Ontario County; Geneva; Hopewell; Canandaigua and Honeoye are the different districts’ that participate in this juvenile prevention program. The training that is involved takes place over the course of two and a half hours on the night it is scheduled to be. At the end of the course, before you can see and hear actual cases, the students have to take a Bar Exam, which is the exam that lawyers take to qualify.
   The types of cases that are heard include but are not limited to shoplifting, harassment and criminal mischief. The types of prosecutions offered are anger management classes, essays, apology letters, community service and drug and alcohol evaluation.