Starting a Teen Court?
GOALS OF TEEN COURT
Stop illegal behavior before it becomes habit
Educate teens about the law
Dispense with juvenile cases in a positive, effective, and efficient manner
WHO BENEFITS FROM TEEN COURT
Teen Defendants
The Community
The Courts and Juvenile Justice System
Families
Teen and Adult Volunteers BENEFITS FOR THE DEFENDANT
Costs only $20 for a single offense
Teen pays the price for their own bad choices
Cased dismissed, upon completion of the Teen Court requirements within the 90 days
Teens learn accountability
Positive peer pressure
BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITIES
Regaining confidence and pride in local youth
Community Service hours provide meaningful help
Reduced court backlogs
BENEFITS FOR THE TEEN VOLUNTEERS
Extracurricular activity that teaches responsibility and accountability Knowledge of the Court system Volunteer Hours Job Skills Letters of Recommendation for colleges and scholarships, etc. Article 45.052 CCP:
DISMISSAL OF MISDEMEANOR CHARGE ON COMPLETION OF TEEN COURT PROGRAM
Article 45.052 CCP
1. For defendants who are under the age of 18 or enrolled full time in an accredited secondary school in a program leading toward a high school diploma 2. Pleads no contest or guilty to the offense in open court with the defendant's parent, guardian, or managing conservator present 3. Presents to the court an oral or written request to attend a teen court program; and 4. Has not successfully completed a teen court program in the two years preceding the date that the alleged offense occurred.
Article 45.052 CCP
5. The teen court program must be approved by the court. 6. Defendant shall complete the teen court program not later than the 90th day after the date the teen court hearing 7. The justice or municipal court shall dismiss the charge after successfully completing the teen court program. DISMISSAL
(d) A charge dismissed under this article may not be part of the defendant's criminal record or driving record or used for any purpose. However, if the charge was for a traffic offense, the court shall report to the Department of Public Safety that the defendant successfully completed the teen court program and the date of completion for inclusion in the defendant's driving record.
ADMINISTRATIVE FEES
(e) The justice or municipal court may require a person who requests a teen court program to pay a fee not to exceed $10 that is set by the court to cover the costs of administering this article. (g) In addition to the fee authorized by Subsection (e) of this article, the court may require a child who requests a teen court program to pay a $10 fee to cover the cost to the teen court for performing its duties under this article. (h) A justice or municipal court may exempt a defendant for whom proceedings are deferred under this article from the requirement to pay a court cost or fee that is imposed by another statute.
WHERE DO YOU BEGIN? APPROVAL
It is important to get sponsorship and approval from the Municipal Court or Justice Court before making presentations to:
Other Judges
Court Administrators and staff
City Council/County Commissioners
City Attorney/County District Attorney
Police Chief/Sheriff
School Administrators
PRESENTATION
Judges, city, county, state officials, and school personnel- Create a presentation to include: Purpose Goals and objectives Benefits to the city and youth Plan of action Community Partnerships
LEGAL ISSUES
Create a liability statement that will cover all staff and volunteers involved in the program.
Each Teen Court should have written policies and procedures in place that should carefully define the duties and conduct of program participants to minimize opportunity for misconduct and injury.
Must have applications and background checks on all adult volunteers. INSURANCE
Cities, counties and sponsoring agencies should and will have adequate insurance to cover all participants in the program.
Community service provider agencies should have their own policies and insurance to cover the teen volunteer. It is up to the Teen Court to check on the policies in place before allowing teens to work with the agency.
BUDGETING
Determine the needs of your program
Personnel and benefits.
Office and court space.
Equipment.
Supplies.
Personnel training and travel.
Volunteer recognition (i.e. annual dinners).
Special Events (i.e. competition).
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
Most Teen Courts are operated by Municipal or Justice Courts but, many are administered by non-profit agencies.
Some are Incorporated as Teen Courts only
Some are a separate program as part of an existing agency such as:
Schools Boys and Girls Club Camp Fire YMCA/YWCA COMMUNITY SERVICE PROVIDERS
Schools/Government entities
Non-Profit Agencies
Alternative programs-family counseling, substance abuse counseling, victim awareness programs, defensive driving, tutoring, conflict resolution, anger management, peer mediation, drug testing, etc.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Each Teen Court needs to at least operate under the Guidelines of the Texas juvenile confidentiality statutes.
All participants (volunteers, defendants and parents) sign an oath of confidentiality.
Outside observers should be left to the policy of each Teen Court and their governing bodies.
MEDIA PLAN
The City or County Public Relations Office is your best resource.
What do you want to accomplish?
Raise awareness of your program.
Recruit adult and teen volunteers.
Recruit prospective funders. PROCEDURES
Determine
Type of cases your Teen Court will hear:
Traffic Non traffic
Or both
Type of trial your Teen Court will use:
Jury trial Master Jury
Tribunal
Plea in Bar Or combination of trials
JURY TRIAL
Jury Trial Court: Jury trial court has a volunteer adult or teen judge on the bench, volunteer teen prosecuting attorneys representing the State and the City and volunteer teen defense attorneys representing the defendant. Six teen jurors listen to the case, deliberate and determine community service hours.
JURY TRIAL COURT MASTER AND TRIBUNAL
Master Jury: The defendant pleads his/her case in front of a six member teen panel. The jury questions the defendant before deciding on community service hours Tribunal Jury: The defendant pleads his/her case in front of a three member teen panel. The panel questions the defendant before deciding on community service hours.
TRIBUNAL COURT
PLEA IN BAR
One defense attorney and one prosecuting attorney (with an adult facilitator) talk with the defendant and parent and all come to an agreement on the community service hours.
This type of trial can be used for young defendants (10-13 years old) and special needs defendants. PLEA IN BAR
FORMS
Disposition Grid-create a disposition grid to give the teen attorneys and jurors a guideline on the community service hours
Create the forms you will need for the program.
Examples are available from the TMCEC forms book and other Teen Courts so you can create forms that will be appropriate for your program
INTAKE/ENROLLMENT
Determine how and where you will do the intake/enrollments
Immediately after the juvenile arraignment docket
By appointment after enrollment
At a later date within a certain amount of time
Judge gives a flyer stating they have X amount of days to come enroll in the program TEEN VOLUNTEERS
Teen Attorneys and jurors
Recruit from the public and private middle and high schools, home schools, and specialty schools.
Ask an adult attorney to train the teen attorneys in basic courtroom procedures.
Training can be an all day event or several days for 3-4 hours at a time.
SAMPLE DISPOSITION GRID
CLASS I--Community Service: 8-16 Hours Jury Terms: 2 Defective lights, Equipment violations (registration, inspection) No helmet (bicycle/motorcycle) Anti-noise violations (music too loud) Following too closely (City Ordinance)
CLASS II--Community Service: 16-32 Hours Jury Terms: 2 One-way street/ Wrong side of street Impeding traffic/Unsafe lane change Red light/Stop sign, No turn signal/Improper turn Speeding 1-15 MPH over speed limit Disobey traffic control device/No Seat Belt Unlawful Riding/Child in pick-up Jaywalking/Skateboarding, Littering/Loitering
DISPOSITION GRID
CLASS III--Community Service: 32-48 Hours Jury Terms: 2 Driver's license restrictions/No Child Safety Seat Speeding 16-24 MPH over speed limit Speeding-SZ/Const-1-15 MPH over limit Curfew/Park Curfew, Attempted Criminal Trespass Disorderly Conduct-Language
CLASS IV--Community Service: 48-64 Hours Jury Terms: 2 No Operator’s license/No Insurance Speeding 25+ MPH over + Speeding-SZ/Const-16+ MPH over Passing school bus/emergency vehicle + DSC Cell phone use in school zone, Accident violations Most non-traffic violations such as: Theft, Criminal Mischief, Truancy, Public Intoxication, Assault, Disorderly Conduct, MIP, MIC, Fireworks, Disruption of Trans, Discharge, Air Gun, Possession Drug Paraphernalia, Disruption of Class FIRST COURT SESSION
Determine which type of trial you will use.
Some courts start with a master jury or tribunal using the new teen attorneys as the panel until the teen attorneys are trained and comfortable trying cases
Some courts only use attorney trials
Some courts only use Master/Tribunal trials
Some courts use several types of trials
STATISTICS
Develop your statistic requirements with your City, County or host agency.
Typical statistics may include: Number of defendants Number of Offenses Type of offenses Completion date Hours Agency Age Race Gender Zip School Number of Jury Terms
EVALUATION
Why Evaluate?
Program Effectiveness.
Funding opportunities.
Agency and community accountability.
Opportunity to examine alternative strategies. Who Evaluates?
In house evaluations-by the participants and parents
Outside Evaluator-Companies, Universities. 2014 Competition 1st Fort Worth Teen Court and 2nd County of Collin
TEEN COURT COMPETITION
TEEN COURT COMPETITION RESOURCES
Susan Wolf-Fort Worth Teen Court [email protected]
Teen Court Association of Texas, Inc. ww.txteencourt.com
National Association of Youth Courts www.youthcourt.net