The only requirement to join a panel was to have been a child - an idealistic approach that has kept Anderson involved ever since.
"Like most of the Scottish population, I didn't have a clue what the system was about," says Anderson. "Everybody knows about other courts, but nobody actually thinks about the system of care and justice for young people."
But now, the Children's Hearings system is the subject of more thought than at any other time in its 33-year history.
For the first time, a review is under way of the country's unique alternative to youth courts, which involves groups of trained volunteers finding remedial solutions for young offenders or young people needing protection.
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