Several youngsters filled the 52-2 District Court Monday, Jan. 13 to get an inside look at the judicial system.
The law students from Clarkston High School were participants in the Oakland County Teen Court and took on the identity of jurors, prosecuting and defense attorneys, bailiff and clerk during Clarkston’s inaugural teen court appearance.
Guided by Judge Dana Fortinberry and professional attorneys, the students questioned and sentenced defendants actually charged with a crime. For example, one of the cases seen Jan. 13 was a 15-year-old boy charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. However, none of the offenders, who are all first-time offenders and chose to be hold a trial in front of peers, are from the local area to assure no paths between students have been crossed.
Student Colleen Mead who played the role of prosecutor, said “I was a little nervous because these are actual cases, but I was pretty confident with all the training from my law class at the high school.”
After Mead and fellow attorney and high schooler Kristi Horstman questioned the defendant in each case, the jury also had the opportunity to ask the defendant questions. Fortinberry said she was quite impressed with the questions asked, and many were questions she planned to ask but didn’t have to.
Implemented by Oakland County Prosecutor Dave Gorcyca in an effort to reduce the number of re-offenders, the Oakland County Teen Court program began in January 2000. Thirteen schools are currently involved, and since its inception approximately 270 cases have been sentenced.
“That’s pretty good for a little program,” Teen Court Coordinator Tasha Hanson said. “The recidivism rate is less than five percent. It seems to be pretty effective as well.”
Hanson accounts the program’s success to the peer factor. “Who do teens listen better to than to their own peers?”
Fortinberry agrees. “(The defendants) are more likely to follow through on what their peers have to say for sentencing more than what I’d say.”
In Teen Court cases, sentence conditions may include performing community service, financial reimbursement to the victim for damages, making a written or oral apology, obtaining counseling, writing an essay or performing future Teen Court jury duty on another case.
“I think the whole program is great and well run,” Mead, who hopes to someday become an FBI agent, said. “Students get a real sense of what it is like in the courtroom. This wasn’t like a mock trial. And a lot of times peers are harder than adults in their sentencing. We understand better because we are in the same place as (the defendants), but we didn’t make the same choices.”
The next Teen Court at the 52-2 is scheduled for Jan. 27 with Lakeland Schools. Fortinberry hopes to get more communities involved and run the program at least four times a month.