HOW TEEN COURT WORKS

Upon receiving a citation, persons below the age of 17 are sent to juvenile court. At the juvenile court hearing, a juvenile defendant may request Teen Court as an alternative to paying a court fine. The teen must enter a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to participate. Teen Court may also be mandated by a judge, should the judge see fit. If the judge awards the youth Teen Court, they will be required to pay a non refundable court fee of $20 in lieu of paying the fine and then be set for a Teen Court hearing. Any defendant under the age of 17 or still in high school who receives a citation in the city of Arlington is eligible to take part in the Teen Court program as a way of keeping the violation off of his or her record.

Teen court hearings are presided over by an adult judge who is either an attorney at law, or an adult volunteer with adequate teen court experience. The juvenile defendant will then be tried by a teen prosecutor, and defended by a teen defense attorney who is appointed for them by the City of Arlington. The defendant’s sentence will be determined by a jury of teens who are either teen volunteers or juvenile defendants serving a jury term to satisfy a portion of their sentence.

The juvenile defendant will be sentenced to complete community service hours, two or more teen court jury terms, and/or a creative alternative sentence to “pay” the fine. The number of community service hours and jury terms, as well as the type of alternative sentencing requested by the teen prosecution and required by the teen jury, will be based on the type of offense committed. If the juvenile defendant satisfactorily completes his or her sentence, the defendant must only pay the court cost of $20.00 and the violation will be dismissed and remain off the defendant’s record.

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