JUSTUS JUNKIE, LLC is an attorney-led, legal education company that teaches teens and their families how to stay safe when stopped by police and how to stay out of jail.
When teens and young adults are stopped by police, they rely on what they saw on social media or in a movie.
Maybe they received “The Talk” from their parents or an older sibling, or maybe they’ll just follow the lead of one of their friends.
Unfortunately, the members of their village rarely have any formal legal training. As a result, the people who teens look up to the most, often give them misinformation.
JUSTUS JUNKIE, LLC is a trusted source that has developed a proven violence prevention model that equips, empowers, and educates youth about police encounters.
Our hero product is Trials & Triumph Board Game, a Monopoly-style, tabletop, educational tool, that teaches youth 7 Rules of Police Encounters using 54 real-life scenarios.
All products are designed by Attorney April Preyar, a seasoned litigator with 25 years of experience.
MEET OUR FOUNDER, ATTORNEY APRIL PREYAR
Chicago native, April Preyar is the founder and
CEO of JUSTUS JUNKIE, LLC. She is also the creator of Trials & Triumph Board Game.
Preyar is a criminal defense attorney, a recurring TV commentator, and a former adjunct law professor.
Preyar graduated from Duke University and George Washington University Law School.
She has been practicing law for 25 years.
Preyar has witnessed the devastation that an arrest can cause an entire family. Now, she is on a personal mission to save youth from the snares of the criminal courts.
JUSTUS JUNKIE, LLC is her vehicle.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR WHY.
Street Law Revolution is our in-person workshop series for youth ages 13 - 24.
Our team of attorneys conducts workshops for youth organizations, violence prevention programs, schools, and workforce development programs.
We use role-playing, videos, and interactive lecture.
Every session features Trials & Triumph Board Game. It is the linchpin in all that we teach.
All instructors are licensed, practicing criminal defense attorneys with at least 5 years of litigation experience.
PARTNER WITH US ON THIS IMPORTANT MISSION
TESTIMONIALS OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS
A Game Changer for Teens
Of teens who played Trials & Triumph 3x:
62.5% made gains in vocabulary development;
73.8% improved their reading comprehension skills;
75% improved their critical thinking skills by learning which actions are safe and which cause harm;
89.1% feel confident that they could control their emotions during an interaction with police or an authority figure.
OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS HELP US MEET YOUTH WHERE THEY ARE.
OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Acclivus Chicago, Inc.
Business Owners of Tomorrow
Chicago Bulls
Chicago CRED
Contextos
Cook County Public Defender’s Office
Courtology Institute of Basketball
Crushers Club of Englewood
Darren B. Easterling Center for Restorative Practices
District 227 Richton Park
District Outreach Industries
EPIC Academy
Freedom Home Academy, International
Hope Foundation
Illinois Black Legislative Caucus Foundation
Jack & Jill, Inc., The Chicago Chapter
Jack & Jill, Inc., Lakeshore Chapter
Jack & Jill, Inc., South Suburban Chapter
Kensington Inc.
Kuumba Lynx
Mikva Challenge
Momlogics
My Chi, My Future
MyPal Schools
Precious Blood Ministries
Project sWish
R2C2
StickTalk
StoryCatchers
Sunshine Ministries
Top Teens of America, Area III
Top Teens of America, Chicago Chapter
TRIO - Metropolitan Family Services
Westside Justice Center
WordFirst Ministries
JOIN THE MOVEMENT! BECOME OUR PARTNER.
JUSTUS JUNKIE, LLC EVENTS
In partnership with the Darren B. Easterling Center for Restorative Practices, JUSTUS JUNKIE, LLC conducted a workshop series for three consecutive summers. Over 17 organizations were served. Over 1000 youth were impacted.
We partnered with the Chicago Bulls and MyPay Schools Anti-Bullying App to host “School Safety Night” on February 11, 2025, at the Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons game.
1,100 students from across the Chicagoland area attended.
With the support of local small businesses and law firms, 60 youth from Crushers Club of Englewood
and Courtology Institute of Basketball attended the game for free!
Each youth received a food stipend and a Trials & Triumph Board Game.
SUPPORT OUR MISSION. BECOME A PARTNER.
On May 25, 2024, JUSTUS JUNKIE, LLC celebrated the 5th anniversary of the launch of Trials & Triumph Board Game.
We also acknowledged this day as the 4th anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police.
We surprised three extraordinary advocates of the game with awards:
Lisa Daniels, Founder of the Darren B. Easterling Center for Restorative Practices (pictured top left);
Elaine Sharp, Founder of WordFirst Ministries (pictured top center);
Lealia Williams, the game’s biggest supporter (pictured top right).
Attendees were given the option to “give or get” a game.
They could take one home or give one to a local youth organization.
DO YOU RUN A YOUTH ORGANIZATION?
INVITE US TO SPEAK TO YOUR YOUTH.
Thanks to a project grant from the A.J. Muste Memorial Institute, on March 16. 2024, JUSTUS JUNKIE, LLC hosted the Peace & Justice Takeover, a day-long camp focused on peace-builiding and advocacy. Our attorneys and attorneys from the Cook County Public Defender’s Office taught
teens police encounters and how to safely share what they learned with their peers.
A restorative justice practitioner from Lawndale Christian Legal Clinic led a peace circle. Teens planned community events to foster peace in their respective neighborhoods.
On February 10, 2024, JUSTUS JUNKIE, LLC hosted a market with 30 small business vendors.
From Zumba to homemade haircare products to full-body massages to insurance providers, an array of goods and services were provided.
Over 350 people attended the marketplace.
The Cook County Public Defender’s Office hired JUSTUS JUNKIE, LLC to create unique programming for the residents of the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago’s Southside.
On August 14, 2023, JUSTUS JUNKIE’s Street Law Team and attorneys from the PD’s office teamed up to teach
teens at a day-long know-your-rights camp.
Teens learned about police stops, searches, group crimes and more.
The day culminated with a rap battle.
Teens were provided breakfast and lunch.
“The Talk Doesn’t Work - Community-Wide Workshop
On August 27, 2022, in partnership with Roseland Ceasefire and the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, Inc., we hosted a know-your-rights workshop for South Side and South Suburbs of Chicago.
100 people attended this standing-room-only event, including several elected officials. Small business owners sponsored the event.
The workshop was featured on NBC News.
Since 2020, JUSTUS JUNKIE, LLC has hosted at least one masterclass per quarter for parents and/school administrators.
The most popular were “Justice Reimagined” and “The Talk Doesn’t Work.”
Justice Remagined is a live interview series of people who play different roles in the court system, from a former juror to defense attorneys to prosecutors to police officers. Notable guests were Cook County State’s Attorney, Kim Foxx and Sam Adam, Jr. attorney for both R. Kelly and former Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich.
The Talk Doesn’t Work was an evergreen masterclass that taught parents the most common mistakes that parents make when their teen or adult child gets arrested.
The masterclass have garnered hundreds of views.
Trials & Triumph Board Game comes out with a bang! JUSTUS JUNKIE, LLC held a multi-generational daytime game party to announce the release of the board game. Approximately 100 people of all ages from all over the Chicagoland area came to roll the dice for the first time!
JUSTUS JUNKIE, LLC gave a donation of $1000 to the Westside Justice Center for its legal advocacy work.
