Jury of their peers: Youth delivering justice through Warren Co. court program
LEBANON, Ohio (WKRC) - In Warren County, the juvenile court system is trying something different. It's letting teens deliver justice.
The youth court is fairly new and gives teens firsthand experience in the criminal justice field. Inside Warren County Juvenile Court, teens aren’t just on trial.
The youth court program gives high school students the chance to experience every role in the courtroom.
"We wanted the children to kind of take over the entire courtroom. We wanted them to be the judge; we wanted them to be the bailiff, prosecutor, defense counsel and the jurors,” said Warren County Juvenile Judge Joseph Kirby.
We are not talking about mock cases: The defendant is a real person who has committed a crime, admitted guilt and agreed to come to this style of sentencing by his or her peers instead of a real judge.
"The kids cannot put you in the detention center, where I could. Number two: The case gets sealed and expunged as if it never happened,” said Kirby.
What is happening is real-life experience for students.
"Youth court poses a good challenge for me to be able to see if I actually want to be in the courtroom and actually go into law,” said high school student Gabriella Devage.
The teens go through training and work with attorneys and other legal professionals before entering the courtroom. There's a loose script to follow, but the trial's purpose is to determine the punishment for the offender.
In this case, it's possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The sentence:
"We believe the respondent should write an apology letter to his mother due to the stress caused in the situation and take the marijuana 101 class,” read jury foreperson Devage.
Faith Hampton is Thursday night's defense attorney.
"I think it was fair. It’s a little more than what I wanted, but less than what the prosecution asked for, so what is law without compromise?" said Hampton.
In just two sessions, Kirby is already impressed.
"They took it seriously; they had fun with it and they did a good job with their deliberations. They came up with sanctions that we didn’t think about,” said Kirby.
