Overview

If your case is referred to Teen Court by the State Attorney or by an Officer issuing a Civil Citation, and you accept this route of sentencing, you can expect the following:

1. Referral
2. Hearing & Sentence
3. Completion of Sentence
4. Final Report

Referral Phase

Teen Court is a voluntary program for people who have plead guilty or no contest to a crime, and who have been referred by a Judge or other authority to Teen Court for the handling of the case. Upon referral and acceptance of Teen Court, Defendants are required to complete the sentence that is sanctioned by a jury of their peers. Sentences generally include community service hours, jury duties, rap sessions and other optional sanctions.

Hearing Phase

Once the case is referred to Teen Court, a hearing will be set for the case to be heard in court. All hearings take place on Tuesday evenings starting at 5:30 p.m. A number of formats may be used, but in all cases the sentence will be deliberated and decided by other teens. The sentence range will be determined by the referring entity in accordance with pre-determined sentencing guidelines. The following forms must be turned in to the Teen Court Case Coordinator (blank copies can be provided at the hearing, but completed forms will expedite the hearing of the case):
Agreement to Participate
Teen Court Notice to Appear
Community Service Time Sheet Instructions
Community Service Time Sheet

Sentence

The sentence will be decided on the night of the hearing. Once the sentence is decided, the defendant may begin completing the elements of the sentence immediately. One requirement, if any community service is issued, will be that the defendant must return at least once to serve as a Teen Court juror. Defendants are responsible for tracking their community service hours and turning in proof of completion of all sentence requirements by the due date. Below is a list of pre-approved work sites in the area. Defendants may request permission to serve their hours at another work site if necessary.
Community Service Work Sites | 2009

Final Report

The progress of the case will be mmonitored by the Case Coordinator and on the deadline date to complete the sentence, Teen Court staff will review the file and determine if the defendant has successfully completed the program. A report will be sent to the referring entity who will formally dispose of the case. If the defendant does not successfully complete the program, the case will be sent back to the State Attorney’s Office where they may pursue further prosecution. For information about sealing your record please click here:

Sealing a Juvenile Record

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