About Us

"If children do not understand the Constitution, they cannot understand how our government functions, or what their rights and responsibilities are as citizens of the United States."

- John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court



LawforKids.org was created over 20 years ago in 1999 through a partnership with the Arizona Supreme Court and the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education (Arizona Bar Foundation). While its appearance has changed over the years its purpose has not; to provide clear and easy to read legal information for children and teenagers so they can understand how the law impacts them.

In the mid to late 90s juvenile justice systems across the nation were becoming stricter on juvenile offenders. Arizona was no different and in 1997 new legislation created mandatory guidelines for juvenile offenses. These guidelines stated that youth who committed certain juvenile offenses must be prosecuted as an adult. Prior to 1997, judges had been given discretion to decide whether or not a case should be transferred to the criminal system. With the new sentencing guidelines in place more juveniles were being prosecuted as adults than ever before. Juveniles as young as 14 years old.

The Arizona Supreme Court recognized that there needed to be a way to spread information about the law to youth. The internet and websites had become increasingly popular in the mid-90s and appeared to be the best vehicle to reach youth across Arizona’s 113,635 square miles. The Arizona Supreme Court granted the work to the Arizona Bar Foundation and together they created Lawforkids.org, the first website of its kind.

Over 20 years later the Arizona Bar Foundation and the Arizona Supreme Court continue to work together to expand the site, its reach and its audience so that is can continue to empower youth through understanding of the law and its impact on them.

 

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