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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReporter Jan 09© City of Georgetown, 2009 VOL. 7 • NO. 1 A Publication of the City of Georgetown January 2009 After listening to the oral argu- ments and instructions from Judge Stump, teen juries must come to a unani- mous decision on a sentence within the range of the minimum and maximum allowed. Sentences gener- ally involve service on Teen Court juries and community service hours at a local school, the public library, or the animal shelter. Michael Morton, a teen senior attor- ney in the program, says he has defended a broad variety of students in the last two years. His defendants have ranged from an honors student who rolled through a stop sign, to a middle school student charged with fighting who had two previous assault charges. Morton likes the fact that in Teen Court, “you’re actually helping someone” and it’s not just an academic exercise. “It’s more rewarding.” Morton graduates in May and has been accepted to the In October, Georgetown’s Teen Court program was given the Spotlight Achievement Award from the Teen Court Association of Texas at their annual meeting. Now in its sixteenth year, Georgetown’s Teen Court was cited as the top program among the 80 teen courts in Texas. Tina Heine, teen court coordinator for Georgetown Municipal Court, says the number of teens serving as attorneys has grown from 10 to 18 in the past two years. Heine says she loves working with the teens in the program who work solely for the experience they gain. “They inspire me,” she says. Teen Court meets twice monthly during the school year. Five to six trials involving Class C misdemeanors by teen defendants are typically held each session. Offenses may include thefts, minor assaults, or minor traffic violations. Defendants must be 13 to 18 years of age, must be students in Georgetown ISD, and must plead guilty or no contest to have their case heard in Teen Court. A group of teenagers has been hang- ing out in a downtown location after dark. The teens typically engage in lots of arguing and at some point, the police show up. A judge gets involved, and by the time the gatherings break up, a number of the teens will be serving sentences for a range of offenses. Though it may sound menacing, the teens are involved in Teen Court, a program of the Georgetown Municipal Court on the downtown Square. The defense and prosecut- ing teen attorneys plead their cases in real trials with real sentences in the courtroom of Judge Randy Stump, the City’s municipal court judge. The 18 teen attorneys use actual police reports to build their cases and can call witnesses to testify. Often these witnesses are Georgetown police officers. Teenagers also serve as jury members. University of Texas where he plans to study journalism and com- munication. While Teen Court is a part of the criminal justice system, it also pro- vides a hands-on educational experi- ence for the attorneys who must prepare and argue cases, as well as the defendants and jury members. When the jury goes into another room to deliberate, Judge Stump poses questions to those in the audi- ence about landmark court cases, traffic law, the Constitution, the rights of defendants, or the responsi- bilities of attorneys. “We hope that those who go through it learn from the inside out,” says Judge Stump. Cited as the top program among the 80 teen courts in Texas Teen Court Program Judged Supreme in Texas LaMotte; and Jennifer Cole. (Back row, left to right): Fred Pitcher, Teen Court Bailiff; Judge Randy Stump; Abby Harber; Michael Morton; Cotter McClinton; Brian Rawls; Kate Barnekow; and Stephanie Temple. Not photographed: Ashley Cockrum, Helen Hardy, Catherine Solheim and Chase Zreet. Georgetown’s young legal pro’s earn state honors. Pictured are (front row, left to right): Rick Garza, Teen Court Coordinator for Georgetown HS; Tina Heine, Teen Court Coordinator for Georgetown Municipal Court; Wade Spears; Dillon Zavala; Ellese Castillo; Sommer Smith; Jessica Sharp; Audrianna Michael Morton, a senior attorney for Teen Court, argues his case to the jury. Library Foundation Makes $50,000 Donation Larry Franks, president of the Georgetown Public Library Foundation (cen- ter) presented a check for $50,000 to Mayor George Garver (left) and City Manager Paul Brandenburg (right) on October 29. The donation to the City was the second installment from the foundation’s capital campaign for the new public library, which opened in January 2007. The foundation’s down payment to the capital campaign was a $200,000 donation to the City in July 2007. The purpose of the capital campaign is to help pay for tables, chairs, and other furniture for the new public library at 402 W. Eighth Street. For information on donating to the Georgetown Public Library Foundation, email the organization at information@yeslibrary.net. Discover the latest news about the city at www.georgetown.org The Georgetown City Reporter is a publication of the City of Georgetown Public InformationOffice located in City Hall, 113 E. Eighth Street, Georgetown, Texas, 78626. For questions or comments, contact KeithHutchinson, Public Information Officer for the City of Georgetown at (512) 930-3690, or by email at pio@georgetowntx.org. DowntownHappenings The Palace Theater The Gifts of the Magi, weekends through December 23 Love, Sex and the IRS, weekends January 9 to February 1 Details at www.TheGeorgetownPalace.org, or call (512) 869-7469. First Friday,January 2 Downtown shops, galleries, and restaurants open 6 – 8 p.m. January Closings City offices closed Jan. 1, New Year’s Day Jan. 19, MLK, Jr. Day No solid waste or recycling pickup on Jan. 1 Collection slides one day for remainder of week. Regular solid waste or recycling pickup on Jan 19. Amy Vessels and Robyn Rye are two of the City of Georgetown employees helping to collect items to send to the 2-4 Aviation Battalion, a 600-member unit of the U.S. Army from Fort Hood currently stationed in Iraq. Energy bars, crossword puzzles, DVDs, hand lotion, magazines, and international phone cards are just a few of the items being collected to send to the unit. Look for collection barrels at the Georgetown Municipal Complex, Municipal Court, public library, Recreation Center, and Georgetown Chamber of Commerce. The 2-4 Aviation Battalion was adopted by the City of Georgetown, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, and Georgetown ISD, as well as and local businesses and churches as part of the Adopt-a-Unit pro- gram. For a complete list of items you can donate, go to georgetown.org. A bus route between Sun City and the Downtown area will run through the holiday season. The route is the first phase of a pilot transit program for the City of Georgetown and the Capital Area Rural Transportation System (CARTS). The Sun City – Downtown route will start at the Sun City Social Center and connect with the Downtown Square, Wolf Ranch, and the Rivery shopping center before returning to Sun City via Williams Drive. The ending date for phase 1 of the pilot will depend Sun City – Downtown Bus Route Holiday events, entertainment, and shopping in Georgetown. Find it all at www.GeorgetownHoliday.com. on available fund- ing. A second phase of the bus pilot with a route serving Southwestern University is planned for the spring of 2009. A third phase of the pilot with a route serving youth summer programs is planned for the summer of 2009. For information about the bus route schedule, a route map, and fares, go to georgetown.org or pick up an information card at the Sun City Community Association office or the Visitor Information Center on the Square. Adopt-a-Unit program Collection Barrels for 2-4 Aviation Battalion To make room for more DVDs and books on CD, the library began in November to remove from circula- tion all of its VHS videos and books on cassette. Although some people still were checking out these for- mats, public preference by far is for the disk formats of video and audio and these are the formats the library has been purchasing for the past year. Also, heavy weeding of the book collections has taken place to make room for new materials. The Friends of the Georgetown Library will hold a 13-hour sale of these items, as well as some of the donated items that they have received, in the Community Rooms on the second floor of the library. The sale begins at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, January 23 and will run until 8:00 p.m. Friday evening. Hours on Saturday will be 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Prices will be very low, particu- larly on the media items, and will include two-for-the-price-of-one specials. This is a great opportunity to increase your personal library and help make room for more new materials at the library. Georgetown Public Library A BIG book and media sale January 23 & 24 Christmas Tree Recycling Collection Station January 2 - 31