Attorney gets spot on national board

Paula Juels Jones, an assistant city attorney for North Little Rock, has been elected to a three-year term on the National Association of Youth Courts board of trustees for her work with the North Little Rock Teen Court.

Jones led the city attorney’s office in 2008 to implement the Teen Court Program, a peer justice system where students serve as prosecutors, defense attorneys and jurors for fellow students who have committed minor crimes or traffic violations, according to a letter of recognition by City Attorney Jason Carter.

Students are given the opportunity to be diverted from Juvenile and Traffic Courts to Teen Court, where they must plead guilty and be sentenced by their peers to perform community service, essay-writing or other tasks.

“Her tireless work, dedication and leadership in the North Little Rock Teen Court program earned her this special recognition at a national level,” Carter wrote of Jones’ election to the national board in a letter to the City Council.

Jones is also co-founder of the Arkansas Teen Court Association and is co-host, with the Fayetteville Teen Court, of the Arkansas Teen Court Conference held annually at the William H. Bowen School of Law in Little Rock.