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Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Ind. Courts - Teen Court at the Tippecanoe County Courthouse

"Dropping the gavel: Peers mete out punishment to teenage offenders" is the headline to this story by Jennifer Schaff in today's Lafayette Journal & Courier. Some quotes:

It's 5:30 p.m. at the Tippecanoe County Courthouse, and while all other courtrooms are starting to clear out, Tippecanoe Superior Court 6 is full of kids.

Kids make up most of the audience, which is so full teens are standing against the walls. Kids sit behind both the defense and prosecution tables. A kid stands up from the bailiff's seat at the front of the room and asks the jury, also made up of kids, to stand and take an oath.

Teen Court is now in session.

Teen Court is a way for juvenile offenders between the ages of 12 and 17 to learn about the court system, and to see the consequences of their actions, Christina Potts, Teen Court specialist, said. Offenses such as battery, shoplifting, minor consumption, runaway, truancy and vandalism are heard here, and all respondents must first plead guilty before being referred to Teen Court. * * *

Juvenile Judge Loretta Rush said Teen Court has been a successful program, given that it does not have a lot of repeat offenders. * * *

Clif Reeder, 17, a senior at West Lafayette High School, has been serving on Teen Court for the past four years.

By acting as an attorney, Reeder gets to show off his debate skills three Tuesdays a month. He said the training to be a Teen Court attorney takes six hours.

Reeder, who has served in pretty much every aspect of Teen Court, even got to sit in as the judge during one court session. A local attorney acting as judge is normally the only adult who serves Teen Court.

Trent Klingerman has acted as judge for Teen Court three or four times. Klingerman got involved with Teen Court because some of the senior members of his Lafayette firm, Stuart and Branigin, passed it down.

"It's different to be on this side of the bench," Klingerman said. "I always enjoy this perspective."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 19, 2006 07:45 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts