Teens are the judge, jury, and respondents in this Philly courtroom

This Philly courtroom has all of the familiar players. There’s a person accused of wrongdoing, someone to advocate on the respondent’s behalf, a jury of their peers, a judge, even a bailiff.

Except, at a hearing of the Philadelphia Community Youth Court, all of these roles are held by youths.

PCYC is a restorative justice and diversion program for youths, where respondents accused of offenses like bullying or theft have their cases adjudicated by their peers. The goal of the court is to address harm with solutions such as writing an apology letter with plans to repair harm, attending therapy, or sitting in on future youth court hearings.

“Youth court is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. Work has to be done. We are holding you accountable for your actions. You have the responsibility to repair the harm that you have caused,” said Francine Hardaway, the CEO and founder of PCYC.

The program currently operates courts in seven locations across the city, including at its newly opened headquarters in East Germantown, and plans to open at least two more. PCYC receives its cases as referrals from partners in the School District of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the district attorney’s office, and from community members through a Casebook PBC management system.

“Rather than a child being sentenced and charged and being put through the justice system where it’s so harmful mentally, I would much rather them go through our system,” said Rahmira Davis, 19, a former PCYC member who still helps with the program’s administrative work since going off to college. She aims to work in law one day, in either criminal law or youth advocacy.

“Where it’s restorative, where they’re being reintegrated, where they’re being seen as human beings and not just for what they’ve done,” she said.

Hardaway started PCYC in 2012 at Imhotep Institute Charter High School. Before then, she was certified to be an arraignment court magistrate, a quasi-judicial officer in the Philadelphia court system, and went one day to sit in on court cases to learn more about the courts. Some PCYC kids and community members call her Judge Hardaway, though she is not a judge. Over the course of a day, the sheer volume of people being formally charged with offenses alarmed her.

“I was very, very concerned about the number of Black and brown people that came before the magistrate. … I couldn’t help but to think: What happened to them? Who hurt them? How did we get there?” Hardaway said.

A mentor challenged her to do something about it. Hardaway began researching ways to keep children from reaching the criminal justice system, and came across youth-led courts. They were active in a number of different cities, like New York, Washington, and Baltimore; Philadelphia and Chester had even operated youth courts in the past. After she visited and studied these courts, Hardaway brought her version to Philadelphia, where it immediately resonated with people.

“We did a mock hearing, and it went over like gangbusters,” she said. “When you value their voice, that’s when they open up.”

Today, there are other youth court programs in the city, including some in the school district, but Hardaway said that PCYC is the only one partnered with the police department’s diversion program.

Currently, PCYC handles a little over 100 cases per year across its different courts, but Hardaway said she hopes that with their new headquarters, PCYC will now see up to 300 cases annually. The court does not determine guilt or innocence, because prior to a case being accepted, respondents must sign an agreement stating that they are willing to repair harm that they caused. Otherwise, their case will go through the traditional justice system.

Hardaway said that the court aims to be both “restorative and transformative” in how it treats its youth respondents. Restoring harm by apologizing or taking other forms of responsibility only goes so far if the conditions that led to that harm remain. PCYC works with its referral partners and other city stakeholders to alleviate root causes — Hardaway gave an example of a respondent who had stolen clothes because his family was suffering and he badly needed them for a job interview, so PCYC helped him land a job.

“We have to transform that condition,” she said.

Each member of the youth court rotates through the different court roles: jury members who question and determine the restorative outcome for the respondent, a judge with a robe and gavel who leads proceedings, a bailiff who assists the judge and keeps the court on track, and a youth advocate who supports the respondent. The only adults present at hearings are PCYC staff and a parent/guardian of the respondent.

Even after respondents effectively address the harm they caused, PCYC stays in contact with them through the end of high school so they continue to feel valued. The organization also holds occasional “positive pop-up” events meant to keep former respondents engaged and to connect with community members.

“We see them for who they are.”

“There’s only [a] way into this organization. There’s no way out,” said Derrick Cheeks, 24, the chief administrative officer for PCYC. Cheeks first started working with the youth court when he was a middle schooler and has stayed involved ever since.

“I want to know what your needs are,” he said about the respondents. “If there’s no relationship, there’s nothing.”

Davis, who started with PCYC during her freshman year of high school, said that her favorite role on the court was the youth advocate.

“A lot of people don’t always have that home or that go-to person to talk to things about or feel heard,” she said.

Jabril Williams, 20, used to be the president of PCYC and still works with the organization now that he’s in college. He said he enjoyed serving as a judge the most, because he liked making sure that everyone was engaged so that respondents felt heard.

“We see them not for what they’ve done or why they’re in the court, but we see them for who they are — a good human being,” he said. “Someone that can contribute to the world, but they don’t necessarily know how to.”