TEEN COURT DEFENDANTS

Students between the ages of 13 through high school who are currently enrolled in an accredited school may request Teen Court for traffic and penal code violations. The youth must appear with their parent or guardian and enter a plea of  guilty or nolo contendere and request referral to Teen Court.  More than one offense may be referred to Teen Court at the judge’s discretion. Only one citation from Municipal Court may be referred to the Teen Court Program within a two-year period.

Offenders will be assigned a peer defense attorney for representation before Teen Court.  Defense attorneys are the youth's advocate in the Teen Court proceeding.  Defense attorneys will visit in person with the offender before court begins to gain more information about the offense and the circumstances involved.  To better represent the defendant, the defense attorney needs to be informed of details and circumstances related to the offense.  Following courtroom procedure, the defense attorney will present the details and circumstances of the offense to the Teen Court jurors who, based on the offense classification and range of punishment allowed, will decide the binding constructive sentence.

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