Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe simultaneous development of harsh school discipline policies and punitive criminal justice legislation has led to the development of a School-to-Prison Pipeline, and there is growing evidence documenting the deleterious effects. In an effort to decrease formal contact with the Juvenile Justice System, utilization of various youth courts based on restorative justice principles is increasing across the nation. However, due to the large variation in structure, jurisdiction, implementation, and target populations of such programs, there is little systematic research on their effectiveness. This study connects Salt Lake Peer Court and Utah Administrative Office of the Courts Juvenile Court Administration data to analyze the effectiveness of Salt Lake Peer Court. Effectiveness is measured in two ways: successful completion of the peer court process, and reduced recidivism. Recidivism is defined as formal contact with the Juvenile Justice System within 3 years of ending contact with the peer court program. It is hypothesized that legal variables will have a greater impact than demographic (nonlegal) variables on successful completion of the peer court program and that successful completion of the peer court program will be associated with lower recidivism rates