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Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Ind. Courts - "Teen Court is almost in session"
A 14News story out of SW indiana reports:
Their roles may be make-believe but their decisions will carry weight. Teen court will soon be in session and these Tri-State students are ready to serve as judge and jury.The sight of [Vanderburgh] Juvenile Court Judge Brett Niemeier coaching a defendant on the witness stand would bring ethics complaints in a normal courtroom, but Niemeier's not playing sides, he's running Teen Court, and helping prosecutors too. * * *
Monday's case is made up, but the next time these students step into their roles, they'll help decide the fate of a real defendant who's pleaded guilty to a first-time minor offense. Judge Niemeier says it is important to look at all sides, "if somebody's here because maybe they got caught with alcohol. We don't just look at the alcohol problem, we look at maybe a truancy problem, maybe a social issue. We try to solve all of those issues.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 7, 2007 09:03 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts