Peer-to-peer justice program training future attorneys

Since 1996, the nonprofit Mat-Su Youth Court has been an alternative forum for first-time, low-level juvenile offenders who are referred from the state’s Division of Juvenile Justice. The peer-to peer program brings together students, ages 13 to 17, to be trained to prosecute, defend, and judge in actual misdemeanor cases.

Assisted by staff and legal advisors, the state-sanctioned court meets regularly to hear cases. Students trained in their roles as attorneys, judges, clerks, and bailiffs deliver justice, which often comes in the form of community work service hours, an essay, and other sanctions, such as a letter of apology.

Krista Maciolek, a longtime local attorney and Iditarod veteran, has been with the program since 2003, when she began serving as the legal adviser. She became the program director in 2019.

“By successfully completing their sentence requirements, juveniles avoid having a criminal record,” Maciolek said. “So their future options are unimpeded.”

The vast majority of Youth Court defendants plead no contest to their charges. So their cases are handled strictly as sentencing hearings, with a three-judge student panel providing the rulings.

Since its inception, more than 2,000 offenders have had their misdemeanors adjudicated through the program.

The benefits of Youth Court do not go solely to offenders, 75 percent of whom do not reoffend, according to organization statistics. Maciolek said over the last five years juvenile offenders have provided an average of 470 community work service hours each year.

Additionally, the program has trained more than 700 student attorneys, some of whom have become adult attorneys and practice in the area. Together they have contributed an average of 1,400 volunteer hours each year.

Participants can also attend the annual United Youth Courts of Alaska statewide convention, which brings students together from youth court programs around the state for continued legal education.

“We discuss and explore ongoing challenges and opportunities while providing a networking opportunity for students in other parts of Alaska,” she said. “The more students that are able to attend the conference, the more effective the program is.”

The level of effectiveness has gotten a big boost in recent years by grants from the Mat-Su Health Foundation, which has underwritten the expense of traveling to, and staying at, the convention. A $10,000 grant in March will cover those expenses for the 20 students and adult chaperones attending the October convention, held this year in Nome.

“Students return from these conferences with renewed enthusiasm and interest in supporting their peers through the legal process,” Maciolek said. This kind of investment in community health and wellness is part of what the nonprofit Mat-Su Health Foundation does. Since becoming part owner of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in 2007, the Health Foundation has returned more than $138 million of its share of hospital profits to the community through scholarships, sponsorships, and grants to nonprofits across the Valley.

FIND OUT MORE

www.cityofwasilla.gov/371/Mat-Su-Youth-Court