What is Teen Court?

Teen Court is a diversion program designed to offer an alternative to formal juvenile court proceed-ings. Teen Court defend-ants are juvenile offend-ers who have been referred by the State Attorney's Office or Law Enforcement Agencies. Teen Court handles charges of retail theft, petite theft, dis-ruption of a school function, possession of alcohol, possession of marijuana or drug para-phenalia, grand theft, possession of a weapon, criminal mischief, tres-passing, and more...

Why Teen Court?

Central to Teen Court's philosophy, the juveniles must take responsibility for their involvement in the crime, accept the charges against them and then voluntarily agree to participate. Parental par-ticipation is also man-datory for Teen Court de-fendants. The parent(s) or guardian(s) must attend the initial intake interview and court hearing for the juvenile to be accepted. The hearing is grand jury format. If the juvenile completes the program suc-cessfully the original legal charge will be con-sidered "no petition."

When is Teen Court?

Volunteers must sign in by 4:30 PM. Attire must be appropriate for court. Shorts, halter tops, jogging attire, flip flops, sunglasses, and hate signs are not allowed in the courtroom.

How Does it Work?

The night of the hearing, an adult judge facilitates the courtroom process. The defendant and his/her family meet with a court-room advocate who will explain the process and walk them through the hearing. The baliff will swear in the defendant and the judge will present the case. The jury is then told to ask the defendant questions that they believe are relevant to the defendant's crime, school and family cir-cumstances. Once the jurors have sufficiently questioned the defendant they go to the delib-eration room and prepare a brief statement regarding their views on the de-fendant's actions and their decisions as to the most appropriate sanctions for this particular de-fendant. The jury has several sanctions from which to choose for the defendant: Teen Court jury duties, counseling, drug treatment, letters of apology, writing essays, work books, internet activities, and more...

Following the hearing, a Teen Court case manager reviews the sanctions with the defendants and their parents or guardians, and all parties sign a partic-ipation agreement. If the defendant completes the imposed sanctions within the time frame provided, the case will be closed successfully. If the def-endant fails to comply or complete the sanctions given, the case is re-ferred back to the State Attorney's Office or Law Enforcement Agency for a decision regarding pro-secution.

Empower Yourself... Choose Your Future!

The jury is a combination of volunteers and past defend-ants. This unique opportunity provides both the chance for defendants to observe the process from the other side and for the volunteers to get a different perspective when considering the issues at hand. Students have the opportunity to learn about the legal system and their responsibility to the community. It is an ex-cellent and enjoyable op-portunity to earn community service hours.

Prevention Intervention Education

The first nationally recog-nized Teen Court program was started in 1983 in Odessa, Texas. Florida's first Teen Court was developed in Sarasota County in 1988. Broward County implemented Teen Court in 1996. While the operation and administra-tion of Teen Court programs across the nation vary considerably, these pro-grams have generally been deemed very successful, with reports of recidivism rates ranging between 5% and 10%.

Who Do You Contact?

Teen Court Program
North Regional Courthouse
1600 W. Hillsboro Blvd. Suite 130
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
Office: 954-831-1291
Fax: 954-831-1296
www.17th.flcourts.org



You can contact Mr. Dearen in room 616 or by email.

or

You can contact Ms. Meachum in room 611 or by email.