Teen Court News
Hendry County Teen Court Gives Back!
It was another exciting night at Teen Court on Tuesday December 15, 2009. Our high school students took on the challenge of fulfilling new roles as defense and prosecuting attorneys. The peer jury handed down appropriate and constructive sentences that will certainly help the defendants to learn from their experiences. Thanks to all the adult volunteers who took the time to coach the teens and help to sharpen their skills. The highlight of the night’s proceedings was the presentations of four boxes and a bag of groceries to a family in Labelle, to ensure that they will celebrate a special Christmas this year. It was such a thrill to have the family visit with us and for the teens and adults to contribute food and household items as a tangible way to give back to the community. The Teen Court program looks forward to continuing its important role in the juvenile justice system as we work together to make an impact among the youth in Hendry County.
PS. The picture below is the only one taken without the members of the needy family included and we did not want to publicize them.
It shows the Teen Court Coordinator, Marcia Salmon, helping to pack the items donated!
Seminole County Celebrates with an End of the Year Banquet
Submitted by Allison Mikel (Seminole County)
On Tuesday, May 12, 2009, Teen Court Attorney’s, Clerks, and Bailiffs gathered at the Hollywood Bistro in Winter Springs to celebrate another great year in Teen Court. With the support of a local attorney, Philip S. Kaprow, we were able to make this a special event and our first annual Teen Court Banquet.
Only a few are graduating and will be attending local community colleges, therefore allowing them to continue their volunteer service with Seminole County. Together they have completed almost 1,500 community service hours and have participated in other activities within the community. We are very proud of the work they do and their dedication to Seminole County Teen Court.
Polk County Teen Court celebrates Law Day 2009
Submitted by Clever English (Polk County)
Our 2009 (4/23/09) Law Day Celebration was once again, “Take Your Child to Work +1 Day”. The +1 represents local foster children who are invited. Teen Court presented two mock trials and allowed student visitors to participate as jurors. A guest speaker with PowerPoint presentations on Bullying was part of the agenda, therefore in keeping with that subject, the teen court trials were on Bullying/Cyber-Bullying - based on real cases.
Judges and other court staff spent MANY hours coordinating with various community agencies to provide lots of fun, educational activities. (Crime prevention, Diversity, Civics, etc) The goal was to make the day memorable and it was a huge success. This would not be possible without the generous donations from individuals and community partners who care about kids.
Judge Ernie Jones graciously portrayed Abe Lincoln and entertained like a pro! Attendees were given goody bags, a certificate signed by Chief Judge David Langford and Court Administrator Nick Sudzina, and a framed photo of themselves wearing a judicial robe. This all day event included great food and snacks throughout the day– fun for the adults and about 100 children!
Valued Teen Court Supporter Receives Award
Written by David Tilbury
Submitted by Debra Goldman (Broward County)
On May 21, 2008, in honor of Law Month, the Broward County Teen Court presented Kenneth A. Cutler with a trophy commemorating his contributions to the Teen Court Program over the past eight years. Mr. Cutler has been practicing law in Florida for twenty-one years. Kenneth regularly volunteers his time presiding over the Teen Court Hearings as a judge.
When he is not volunteering as a judge in the Program, Kenneth is serving as an advocate for the Program. Kenneth fought for funding of Teen Court when it was threatened with drastic cuts and possible elimination several years ago. He helped the County Board of Commissioners see that Teen Court aids an already overcrowded legal system by giving teens an opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
Mr. Cutler explained that “our structure of laws allows us to enjoy freedom as opposed to tyranny. Kids need to learn that they must live beyond their selfish, impulsive instincts and realize there is a bigger world out there with consequences for their actions.” Teen Court shows kids that reality.
Kenneth A. Cutler resides in Parkland with his family. He has a daughter that is a senior in High School and a son who is a junior at the University of Central Florida. Kenneth is active in many other Community efforts including serving as a member of the Board of Directors for Friends of the Library, and as a member of the Community Emergency Response Team in Parkland. He is also active in Lawyers for Literacy which reads to kids at school.
Mr. Cutler has seen Teen Court change over the years. The Broward County Teen
Court Program’s structure has been revamped to run in a more efficient manner. The number of kids being served has also increased in recent years. Teen Court has also developed some creative new sanctions including the Roadside Fatality Memorial Project and a thoughtful writing project on the American Jury System.
Broward County Teen Court salutes Kenneth A. Cutler for his efforts and looks forward to working with him for many years to come.
Click here for a picture
Gadsden County Teen Court celebrates 100 children
By Tiffany Parsons-Braswell (Gadsden County)
Gadsden County Sheriff Morris A. Young wanted to give teenagers a second chance at life instead of the legal system. He decided to start a program called Teen Court that caters to teenagers who have committed first-time misdemeanors and felonies. "First time offenders get a second chance by completing the program in order to have all their charges dropped," said Tiffany Parsons-Braswell, the program coordinator.
Young always had this dream and in December 2007 the dream was brought to life. Teen Court is held every Tuesday bringing juveniles between the ages of 10-17 before their peers and an actual judge to determine a punishment for the child to serve.
"The program takes about three months to complete. The offenders go before their peers to determine a punishment of community service, an apology letter and other acts of sincerity," said Parsons-Braswell.
The program has dealt with 100 cases so far and 90 percent of those cases have been successful. For those individuals who do not complete the program, the charges remain on their record and it could continue to haunt them for the rest of their lives. "No parent wants to see their child become a product of the state or have unnecessary charges that could've been prevented," said Parsons-Braswell.
Children who are involved in the program have been referred by a judge, state attorney or even a police officer. "Parents are overwhelmed once their child has been accepted into the program. They see their child will be able to turn their lives around and gain a valuable lesson all at the same time," said Parsons-Braswell.
This year the program has allowed teenagers who have traffic violations to become a part of the program. Those individuals have to take part in a traffic safety course on Saturdays. "It is a way for children to become more cautious while driving on the road. Not only are they putting their lives at risk but other people's lives as well," said Braswell-Parsons.
A real life terror that scares the children straight but makes them realize that life isn't a joke is a tour of the jail house. Children get to see the struggles real prisoners go through on a daily basis. "In jail your life is taken away from you and children know they love their freedom," said Parsons-Braswell.
Young is extremely proud of this program and tries to visit as often as he can. The children participate in trials that involve the offenders. They have teenagers play as jurors, lawyers, bailiffs and other roles to give a real life setting. The offenders are given a chance to plead their case in front of their peers. Parents are given an opportunity to speak on behalf of the child. There may be witnesses that come and play a vital role in the trial.
"All of our trials have a script prepared by our teenagers. They work hard putting our trials together for our offenders," said Parsons-Braswell. Community members and some leaders of the community have stopped by and sat in the audience or have participated.
To know more about Teen Court or to get your child involved please feel free to contact Parsons-Braswell at her office at (850) 875-7506. She can also be reached on her cell phone at (850) 933-2912.
Give your child a second chance at life by getting involved with Teen Court.
Click here for a picture
2008 Law Day Celebration in Polk County
By Clever English (Polk County)
Volunteers will once again participate in the ‘Law Day’ celebration events for 2008, in conjunction with “Take Your Child to Work +1 Day”. The +1 represents local foster children who are invited. Teen Court will present a mock trial and allow the student visitors to participate. There is a mock trial (“Goldilocks”) for the younger students (elementary) conducted by judges and local attorneys; therefore in keeping with that subject, the teen court trial is a female charged with Burglary & Criminal Mischief for entering a neighbor’s home uninvited, eating food, and damaging property. Judges and other court staff spend many hours coordinating with various community and law enforcement agencies to provide lots of fun, educational activities (Crime prevention, Diversity, Civics, etc) that will help make the day memorable for these students and give them insight on the courts.
Attendees get souvenirs to take home including a certificate signed by Chief Judge David Langford, Court Administrator Nick Sudzina, and an individual photograph with Circuit Judge Dick Prince. This is an all day event on April 24, 2008 held at the lovely historical courthouse. Great food is provided throughout the day beginning with breakfast – fun for ALL!
The 2008 Circuit 4, Mock Trial Competition- Nassau County Teen Court Competition
By Charles Griffin (Nassau County)
The Nassau County Teen Court, a Youth Volunteer program sponsored by the Nassau County Clerk of Court; John Crawford, on February 29, 2008 held the annual 4th Judicial Circuit Teen Court Mock Trial Competition between Nassau, Duval and Clay County youth.
This year’s event drew many participating leaders from our local legal community as well as 5 distinguished Judges, locally this required to suspension of all Court procedures on the day of the event and brought Judges from both Duval and Clay County together with Nassau County for the event.
Judge Robert M. Foster and the Teen Court program Coordinator, Charles Griffin, Hosted the event. Our Honored guest were Judge Tim Collins of Clay County , Angela Cox of Duval County and our own Judge’s, Brian Davis and Granville “Doc” Burgess and Retired Senior Judge, Robert E. Williams.
Participating teams faced off in 3 separate courtrooms to challenge one another with their abilities to present the Prosecution and Defense of a case, they performed before a panel of Professional Attorney’s that also came from the three County area with the Nassau Bar Association as well as local Attorney’s sharing their time with the youth for this event.
The local Teen Participants range in age 11 to 18 yrs of age and come from area schools representing Fernandina Beach, Yulee, Callahan and Hilliard, which make this an all County program, challenging their peers from the neighboring County’s.
We are excited to report that out of six awards, Nassau was recognized for its Best Defense Attorney , Cailin Cascone , the Best Prosecution Team Award as well as overall 1st Place Team Award. Duval County won the Best Defense Team Award, best Prosecution Attorney Award and best Prosecution Witness, Clay County won the best Defense Witness Award.
Teen Courts are statewide programs with each sponsored by each County, either through their Clerks of Courts, County Sheriff’s, or School Board as well some not for profit organizations. Together they comprise the membership of the Florida Association of Teen Courts, which acts to direct the legal status for the Courts and Florida Legislative needs.
For Information about the program or the Competition event call 904-548-4611 and speak to Charles Griffin, Teen Court Coordinator.
FATC holds successful annual conference
By Stephanie Glass (Lake County)
The Florida Association of Teen Courts, Inc., annual meeting and conference were a great success. Jennifer Romelien did a fantastic job arranging the location and securing informative and pertinent speakers. The conference, which was held November 8 and 9th on Hutchinson Island, was attended by 37 people; 25 Counties were represented. It was an excellent opportunity to meet with our peers around the state, share ideas, and network.
The current Board of Directors are:
Stephanie Glass – Lake County President
John Heyne – Hernando County Vice President
Angie Martinez– Osceola County Secretary
Debbie Mueller – Clay County Treasurer
Allison Mikel – Seminole County Asst. Treasurer
Jon Messick – Manatee County Historian
Curt Jenkins – Suwanee/Columbia Counties Parlimentarian
David Medvec – Orange County
Barbara Artabasy – Santa Rosa/Okaloosa Counties
Ryan Brannen – Baker/Bradford Counties
Mary Carrier – Polk County
Jason Holthus – Alachua County
The association is looking forward to celebrating 20 years of Teen Courts in Florida during 2008. Next year’s conference is tentatively set for Tallahassee. More information will be forthcoming throughout the new year.
Click here for a picture of the Board
Citrus County Teen Court teens help community agencies
By Sean Glancy (Citrus County)
Recently, Citrus County Teen Court has organized some community service opportunities for teen volunteers to help local agencies with projects for their events. During these events, groups of teens get together and work with non-profits on these events such as fall festivals, shoreline cleanups, etc. These community service projects began during the National Youth Court month and have continued to occur at least once a month.
On September 8, 2007 teen volunteers helped a local non-profit theater named Playhouse 19. Playhouse 19 is a volunteer organization which holds plays with local actors from around the county. In preparation for the Playhouses’ upcoming season, teens helped the organization by cleaning chairs, vacuuming and general house cleaning jobs.
On the morning of September 15, 2007 the annual Adopt-A-Shore cleanup event was held. This event occurs on the third Saturday in September and is a kick off event for the Save Our Waters Week. Our teens “adopted” a section of the Crystal River State Preserve Park and helped clean along the shoreline. Some of the various items that our teens found were bottles, cans, plastic, and one teen even came a across a truck tire!! It put a great sense of pride into some of our teens, so much so that one of the teens actually continued to go back and help the park after the event.
On October 19, 2007 teen volunteers helped a local elementary school, Crystal River Primary School, with an annual fall festival. The teens put in their time taking tickets for games, manning booths for games and prizes, and helped with concessions.
On December 8 and 9, 2007 teen volunteers partnered with the Dream Society, a local non-profit agency, to help gift wrap gifts at a local Wal-Mart for the holiday season. In addition to gift wrapping, the teens helped customers to their vehicles after the gift wrapping and also collected donations for the organization.
More are events are being scheduled for the upcoming year, including a Train Car Cleanup. The teens will work with a local non-profit group named Sertoma to help clean a decommissioned train car that was donated from Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. The train car will be used to hold meetings, events, etc. These community service projects have worked exceptionally well and continue to have more volunteers sign up each time we have them. The teens interact with one another, build camaraderie, and begin to understand the importance of community service.
Clay County Teen Court visits the Florida Supreme Court
By Debra Mueller (Clay County)
On Tuesday November 6, a group of Clay County teen attorneys were able to watch the Florida Supreme Court in action. The Supreme Court has been in existence since 1845 and is the highest court in Florida. Three cases were presented before the justices that day. The teens then had a catered lunch at the top of the Capitol Building where they learned more about their Supreme Court experience.
After lunch, the group visited the State House of Representatives where they actually presented a bill just like real legislators and then were allowed to vote. These would-be legislators voted against increasing the driving age to 21. Aren’t you glad these budding politicians have your best interest at heart? After a tour of the Old Historic Capital Building, the group then headed home.
Orange County hosts graduate and awards event
By David Medvec (Orange County)
The Tenth Annual Teen Court Graduation Event
and Teen Alternatives Scholarship Awards were held on April 12, 2007 at
the Orange County Historical Center in the Grand Jury Room. Judge Bob
Leblanc presented the awards to the volunteers and Attorney Juan Campillo
Lopez presented stipends and a scholarship. Teen Court had 33 graduating
seniors from various Orange and Seminole County High Schools this year
with over 100 hours of community service. Cassandra Huggins of Boone High
School was this year's recipient of the scholarship with over 700 hours of
community service. All other applying seniors received cash stipends.
This was a very unique evening having two of our prior teen volunteers in
attendance who are now attorneys, Scott Smothers of Wright, Fulford,
Moorhead and Brown and Daniel Gutierrez. Scott was the first scholarship
recipient and he spoke about his experiences while volunteering for the
program. Danny Gutierrez, who is a recent law school graduate, was the
first volunteer to come back to the program and sit as a judge.
Many thanks go to these outstanding individuals who continue to give time
and energy to the Teen Court program.
"Youth Court Volunteers Reaching up and out”
By Jennifer Romelien (St. Lucie County)
On 05/03/07, the 19th Judicial Circuit’s Juvenile Diversion programs, the Fort Pierce Police Department’s Peer Panel and the Port St. Lucie Police Department’s Youth Court held the 1st annual award ceremony. The ceremony honored the youth/teen court volunteers. There was 200 attendees, including the Chief Judge, Public Defender, both Police Chiefs and a variety of judicial/law enforcement dignitaries. But most importantly, the children and adult volunteers of our programs there along with their families attended.
Everyone received awards signed by the Trial Court Administrator and the Chief Judge of the circuit. However we had 3 beautiful wood carved plaques which were donated by: (1) The Department of Juvenile Justice, (1) The St. Lucie County Sheriff – Ken Mascara, and (1) from the State Attorney – Bruce Colton.
We had a vision to show our appreciation to all of those who keep our programs up and running however went into this with a $ 0 budget. All of the food was catered and paid for by the Port St. Lucie Police Department and the Fort Pierce Police Department. Tropicana Inc, donated the beverages and believe it or not we fed 200 people dinner and had enough to give the Police Department leftovers for the midnight shift! We also had great giveaways that were donated – which included a variety of gift certificates and passes for Lion Country Safari. St. Lucie County Commissioner Joe Smith was the master of ceremonies and did a wonderful job. The youth that received awards were very appreciative and enjoyed the ceremony. Overall, all of our hard work to put this event together was well worth it, and we look forward to next year’s exhausting event!
Click here for a picture of the group
