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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTeen Court Program 04.09.1992The State of Texas } } County of Williamson } A10 r& 7v Fl ,�"1 f�GrGcvrt•. �-r�.� VL ORDER 7- s �� Know All Men By These Presents: That on the 9th day of April, A.D., 1992 the undersigned Juvenile Judges and Juvenile Board of Williamson County, Texas, met in a duly called and convened meeting at the William S. Lott Juvenile Center in Georgetown, Texas, where, among other matters, came up for consideration the following Order, which was duly moved, seconded and adopted by unanimous vote of the undersigned: Whereas, the Georgetown City Council, in its regularly scheduled meeting on March 24, 1992, has adopted and approved a proposal to establish the Georgetown Teen Court Program as detailed in Exhibit "A" attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference, and said Teen Court Program is to be implemented immediately, and Whereas, the Juvenile Courts of Williamson County, Texas are authorized pursuant to Section 54.032, Texas Family Code, to utilize approved Teen Court Programs in dealing with certain juvenile offenders, and Whereas, the Juvenile Courts of Williamson County, Texas find that the Georgetown Teen Court Program will be beneficial to the youth of Georgetown, Therefore Be It Ordered, I. That the Juvenile Courts of Williamson County, Texas do hereby officially approve the Georgetown Teen Court Program as proposed, and pursuant to Texas Family Code §54.032 this Teen Court Program shall be utilized at the discretion of the Juvenile Courts of Williamson County. Juvenile Judge and Juvenile Board Joint Order Regarding Approval of Georgetown Teen Court Program 01 II. That the Juvenile Courts of Williamson County, Texas do hereby authorize Williamson County Juvenile Services to refer select juvenile offenders to participate as jurors, clerks, and/or bailiffs in the Teen Court Program as part of the said juvenile offender's informal adjustment process through the Juvenile Probation Department. M. That the Juvenile Courts of Williamson County, Texas do hereby authorize and encourage Williamson County Juvenile Services to recommend select juvenile offenders be ordered to participate as jurors, clerks, and/or bailiffs in the Teen Court Program as part of their formal court ordered probation. IV. That this order approving the Georgetown Teen Court Program shall be effective from this day forward and remain in effect until revoked and/or modified by the Williamson County Juvenile Courts and/or the Williamson County Juvenile Board. SIGNED this the 9th day of April, A.D., 1992. Carter, Juvenile Judge man of the Juvenile Board William S. Lott, Distriff udge Member of the Juvenile Board Burt Carnes, Juvenile Judge Member of the Juvenile Board L xfler,1qounty Judge of the Juvenile Board EXn I SIT A CITY OF GEORGETOWN TEEN COURT PROGRAM A Proposal March 24, 1992 GEORGETOWN TEEN COURT Proposed Program Overview WHAT: A court staffed by Teen Attorneys, clerks, bailiffs, and jurors where Teen Defendants charged with fineable offenses can elect to plead guilty and allow a teen jury to assess their punishment in community service restitution hours instead of paying a fine. An adult attorney serves as presiding judge over Teen Court. Community attorney volunteers train the Teen Attorneys. A paid Teen Court Coordinator handles the selection of participants, coordinates the docket and case assignments, and also coordinates the restitution work in the community. The proposed plan is to add 10 additional work hours to a current 30-hour position held by an employee of Williamson County Juvenile Services. This position will provide the coordination for both the docketing of cases and the community service restitution. A contractual agreement between Williamson County Juvenile Services and the City of Georgetown is proposed to provide this service. WHERE: Teen Court will be held in the Georgetown Municipal Court building. WHEN: Teen Court will initially be held on the first Monday of each month. If, in the future, the caseload increases to a sufficient level, court sessions may be held twice a month. START ]ATE: The proposed start date for Teen Court's first session is Monday, May 11, 1992 for actual court cases. Although this is not the first Monday in May, this date was selected to accomodate the Teen Court Judge's schedule. The second and subsequent sessions of Teen Court will be held on the first Monday of each month. Training sessions with "mock" trials will be held in April in order to encourage participation and to facilitate training of the Teen Attorneys. TIME: Teen Court will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the evening and will end at 10:00 p.m. Four court cases will be held each session. OFFENSES: Teen Court will initially only handle fineable offenses which include traffic offenses and Class C Misdemeanors. At a later point in time, Teen Court may choose to expand the Teen Court Program to handle select Class A & B Misdemeanors if such a program is approved by the Juvenile Courts. STAri,UrrORY AUTHORITY: Texas Family Code § 54.032 Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 45.55 WCORM Teen defendants requesting Teen Court may be assessed a $10.00 fee to cover the costs of administration. It is proposed that the collections of this fee for the program be authorized by the Georgetown City Council in order to provide additional funding for the program. CASE AND VOLUNTEER REFERRALS: It is proposed that the following entities participate in the Georgetown Teen Court Program by referring teen defendants and/or volunteers. 1. Williamson County Juvenile Courts 2. Justice Court Precinct #3 3. Georgetown Municipal Court 4. City of Georgetown 5. Georgetown Independent School District GEORGETOWN TEEN COURT PARTICIPANTS Overview i Participants The adult participants in the Georgetown Teen Court Program will include: 1. Teen Court .ludge: Honorable Don Higginbotham, Georgetown Municipal Judge has graciously volunteered to act as the Teen Court Judge. The Teen Court Judge will preside over the monthly court proceedings. 2. Te en C ou rl CQordinator: Ms. Stella Tietz of the Williamson County Juvenile Services has agreed to serve in the capacity of Court Coordinator and Restitution Coordinator. This will be a paid position (10 hours per week) that will be contracted between the City of Georgetown and Williamson County Juvenile Services. Ms. Tietz will control the court docket, select the Teen Attorneys and teen volunteers, and coordinate the restitution work in the community. 3. Training Instructors: Local attorneys from the Williamson County Bar Association will provide the training sessions for the Teen Attorneys. Each training session will be taught by two attorneys who will train the teen prosecutors and teen defense attorneys respectively. Mr. John Duer, Assistant County Attorney has graciously agreed to prepare the training materials to be used in the first and subsequent training programs. Mr. Duer has also volunteered to conduct the initial training session. 4. Crimeff' r: It is proposed that a Crime Prevention Officer be present in the courtroom during the Teen Court sessions to ensure decorum and safety. This officer would also provide information and help to the judge if necessary. Teen Participant, : The teen participants in the Georgetown Teen Court Program will come from a variety of sources which are outlined below: All volunteer application forms will be available to the students at Georgetown High School at a place to be designated by the School. The completed forms will be turned in to a designated person at the High School. The Teen Court Coordinator will pick these applications up weekly and process them. The Teen Court Coordinator will provide the school with a Teen Court Participant Selection Sheet at least two weeks prior to the Teen Court session which will list those selected to participate as jurors, clerks, and bailiffs. This sheet will be posted in an easily accessible location for the students to be determined by the school. Teen Attorney applications must be completed and submitted by first day of the last month of the current Teen Court Term. For example, the initial Teen Court Term will run from May -July 1992. Teen Attorney applications for the Aug -Oct 1992 term must be submitted by the first day of July 1992. This will allow for training of the new attorneys during the month of July and they will be ready to take over cases beginning in August. Selection and notification of the new Teen Attorneys for the term will be made during the first week of the last month of the current term. Teen Attorney training sessions will be held on the second Monday of the last month of the current Teen Court term. Teen Attorney case assignments will be made on the third Monday of each month, beginning in the month immediately preceding the Teen Attorney's court term. This will allow the attorneys to have two weeks preparation time for their cases. Case assignment packets will be delivered to the school for pickup by the selected Teen Attorney. All Teen Attorneys who are selected must commit to participate for the entire 3 month term. They must attend each Teen Court session during their term. During each session, they will either be handling one or more cases or they will be observing. Eight to twelve Teen Attorneys will be selected for each term. If the caseload permits, the attorneys will handle cases individually. However, if the number of cases is small, the attorneys for each side will work in pairs to allow each student to gain more experience and practice. 1. D e f end ants_: Teen defendants come to the program on an entirely voluntary basis. The defendants may be referred through Municipal Court or through Justice Court initially. They are given the option to pled guilty and be fined by the Municipal or Justice Court Judge or plead guilty and make application to go through the Teen Court Program and be sentenced by the teen jury to restitution in community- service hours. Successful completion of the Teen Court Program allows the teen to avoid having the offense on his/her permanent record. a. Teens under 18 years or still enrolled in secondary school at GISD are eligible if they have not participated as a defendant in Teen Court for the past 2 years; b. Teens are sentenced using a grid system based on the type offense. (See sample grid which is attached and can be modified as deemed appropriate for our community); C. Teens may be sentenced to serve on the teen jury for 1 or more terms as part of their sentence; 2. Teen Attorneys: Teen attorneys serve as prosecutors and defense attorneys for the Teen Court cases. These positions are strictly voluntary. Each teen who wishes to serve as a Teen Attorney must fill out an application form which will be available at Georgetown High School. The Teen Court Coordinator will select the Teen Attorneys for each term. The Teen Attorneys who are selected must commit to a 3 month term and must attend the training session and every Teen Court session during their term of service, even those in which they are not serving as the attorney. Depending on the volume of cases, the Teen Attorneys may work alone or in pairs. Those eligible to serve as Teen Attorneys include: a. Juniors at Georgetown High School b. Seniors at Georgetown High School Mr. Gary Crowell has indicated that the Business Law teacher may require the students in his class to participate in Teen Court as a part of their classroom work. It has also been suggested that some classes may give students extra points for their participation in Teen Court. 3. Teen Jurors: Juries in Teen Court cases are comprised of teen volunteers and teens who are requested to participate by other agencies. Volunteers will fill out an application at the High School and turn it into the Teen Court Coordinator who will select the participants for each court session. Volunteers must be in enrolled in Georgetown High School, but referral jurors may be as young as 13 years of age. The referral jurors may come from several different areas which include the following: a. Previous Teen Court Defendants who are sentenced to jury service as part of their case disposition; b. Juveniles placed on Informal Probation through Williamson County Juvenile Services as a condition of their probation; C. Juveniles placed on Formal Probation through the Juvenile Courts as a condition of their probation; d. Juveniles referred from Justice Court in Truancy cases as a part of their case disposition or deferred adjudication; e. School discipline referrals. In order to ensure fairness, it has been proposed that the ratio of volunteer jurors to referral jurors should be 4/2. That is, there would be at least 4 volunteer jurors on the jury panel and only 2 referral jurors per case. 4. Teen Clerks & Baililff5: The positions of court clerk and bailiff are voluntary. Teens wishing to fill these positions must also fill out an application form and turn it in to the Teen Court Coordinator who will select the participants. The eligible participants include: a. All Georgetown High School Students (i.e., 9th thru 12th grades) The clerk would help coordinate the paperwork for the judge, and the bailiff would ensure decorum and would also serve as time -keeper to limit the cases to 1 hour each. GEORGET OWN TEEN COURT Teen Attorney Training Overview The Teen Attorney training session will be held on the second Monday of the last month of the current court term. In other words, the training session- for the Aug -Oct 1992 term will be held on the second Monday in July. The training session will last from 6:00 p.m. till 10:00 p.m. and will be held at the Municipal Court building. Local attorney volunteers from the Williamson County Bar Association will provide the training. Two attorneys will conduct each training session. One attorney will train the Teen Prosecutors and the other attorney will train the Teen Defense Attorneys. The volunteer attorneys will be provided with training materials to assist them. These materials will provide a standardized format which will ensure all teen participants from term to term will receive instruction on the basics. Mr. John Duer, Assistant County Attorney and visiting trial advocacy instructor at UT Law School will be designing the training materials. Mr. Duer and a member of the defense bar will be teaching the first training session. The training will be broken down into four basic sections: I. Introduction to Teen Court, its goals, and purposes II. Trial Basics III. Demonstration by Instructors IV. Mock Trials using practice problems Because one of the goals of Teen Court is to educate the participants on the judicial system, it is proposed that some minimum and basic rules of evidence be taught and applied at the Teen Court sessions, (i.e., relevancy, hearsay, etc). All Teen Attorneys must attend and participate in the training session to be eligible to represent the Teen Defendants. ClWilNT elIVW l ►�0 M i� Proposed Implementation Schedule March 18, 1992 Proposal submitted to Teen Court Planning & Advisory Committee for approval and/or changes. March 24, 1992 Formal proposal submitted to Georgetown City Council for adoption. March 30, 1992 Application forms for Teen Court provided to Municipal and Justice Court, to allow teen defendants to choose the Teen Court option. Teen Court Program introduced to students via Georgetown High School. Begin taking volunteer applications. April 3, 1992 Deadline for teen volunteer applications. April 6-10, 1992 Selection of and notification of Teen Attorneys by Teen Court Coordinator. April 13, 1992 Teen Attorney Training Session for May - July 1992 court term. April 20, 1992 Teen Court jurors, bailiff, and clerk participants selected and list posted. April 27, 1992 Case assignments to Teen Attorneys. Note: Case assignments are normally to be made by the 3rd Monday of the month. However, for the first session, we are trying to allow more time to accumulate cases.) May 11, 1992 Teen Court Session #1