To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Deborah Westwood, Teen Court Coordinator
Title
Introduction of 2018 Teen Court Attorney Graduating Class
Body
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Executive Summary
Castle Rock Teen Court will be swearing in new youth attorneys on August 21, 2018. These young volunteers have completed 8 hours of legal training in a variety of areas in order to serve as prosecution and defense attorneys during Teen Court trials.
Training this year was facilitated by Nate Marsh, a Deputy District Attorney for Colorado Springs and resident of Castle Rock. Training included reinforcing an attorney’s ethical responsibilities; the job description for prosecuting and defense attorneys; how to prepare cases prior to trials; interviewing witnesses; developing case theories; opening and closing statements; and how to convince the jury of the necessity of a sentence that encompasses the elements of restorative justice: repair of harm, accountability, competency development, and community safety. During this eight-hour training, volunteers were required to prepare for and practice as an attorney in a mock trial. Some of these attorneys will begin taking cases as they receive continued mentoring from former and current youth attorneys, as well as adult volunteers for the court.
The 2018 graduating class: Alec Ybarra, Caoilinn Messick, Ellianna Lederman, Grace Thompson, Hannah Grandy, Mo Jensen, Remi Salinas, Vayle LaFehr and Zoltan Wolfe.
Background
Teen Court began in Castle Rock in mid-2007. It is a community-based intervention/ prevention program designed to provide an alternative to the juvenile justice system for first-time, misdemeanor juvenile offenders. At Teen Court, youth volunteers are involved in the resolution of crime. The program holds young offenders accountable and provides educational services to the offenders - as well as to the program’s youth volunteers - in an effort to promote long-term behavioral change that leads to enhanced public safety. Teen Court is a sentencing tool only. The defendant must admit guilt prior to being accepted into Teen Court. If the defendant completes all sentencing requirements as determined by Teen Court, his or her case is dismissed.
Teen Court uses two models depending on the type of case and circumstances. In the trial model, teens act as prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, judges, bailiffs and jurors. In the peer panel model, a defendant goes directly before a jury panel of their peers, who then determine a sentence. Adult volunteers play a critical role in serving as mentors to the teens.
One of Teen Court’s goals is to ensure the defendant learns from his/her mistake and does not reoffend. In 2016, we had a 90% completion rate for the program. 83% of the 63 defendants seen had not received another criminal charge 1 year after being sentenced. In 2017, we had 76 cases, with 64 Peer Panels and 11 Trials. Our most frequent charges were general theft (24 cases), marijuana possession (17 cases), drug paraphernalia (12 cases), and alcohol possession (6 cases).
Sentences rendered by Teen Court include: work crews at Rock Park; participation in future Teen Court hearings; community service hours; essays and interviews on various topics; random drug testing; apology letters to victims and to family members; educational classes; letters to “future self;” art projects; presentations; and many more creative and effective options. In 2017, Teen Court defendants contributed more than 1,200 hours of community service - 236 of those spent maintaining our own Rock Park’s trails.
Teen Court has over 30 active youth volunteers and a very dedicated Colorado Springs Deputy District Attorney adult volunteer. We have a diverse group of teen volunteers who represent the following schools: Douglas County High School, Castle View High School, Rock Canyon High School, Legend High School, DCS Montessori, Ponderosa High School, Regis High School, Palmer Ridge High School, Mountain Vista High School, home schools, and more.
Proposed Action
None; for information only