Program offers opportunities for courtroom members, defendants alike
America is often extolled as the land of second chances. In the Town of Bethlehem Court, one program has been quietly living up to that dream from 15 years now, giving youth a chance to put their transgressions behind them.
Bethlehem Youth Court sees about 35 first-time offenders aged eight through 19 every year. Each one stands before a jury of his or her peers to be sentenced to community service hours or other requirements, in a court run by other youth volunteers.
It’s a setup that offers benefits all around, said Director Katrina Charland. Volunteers gain valuable experiences, and offenders get a second chance.
That’s the key element to the program, is having peer-led sentencing, said Charland. `We have a hearing that looks very much like a trial.`
Youth court cases cases are referred by criminal court, family court or probation officers, and sometimes police make the referral after the arrest. The most common offenses that end up at BYC are possession of marijuana or alcohol, criminal mischief and petit larceny.
`We accept cases for low level, nonviolent offenses,` Charland said.
For the offenders, coming to youth court is tantamount to an admission of guilt, so every case that comes before the court results in a punishment of some sort. They do get the chance to present their side of the story to the jury just as in a real trial, however, with the assistance of a defense lawyer.
Jurors are left to deliberate privately. Most sentences impose a number of community service hours and often send the offender to classes based on the crime (drug education or anger management seminars, for example). The court can also order that restitution be made, such as in instances of vandalism.
Once a sentence is completed, the record is sealed and dismissed.
`Bethlehem Youth Court is an outstanding program, said Thomas Spina, assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chair of BYC. `The offenders are, for the most part, young people who have made a mistake, but who are otherwise capable of contributing to our society in a very positive way. This program is a way to keep them out of the traditional criminal justice system and provide them with a second chance to make smarter choices in the future.`
BYC was founded as part of a three-court initiative called Youth Courts of the Capital District, which also involved Colonie and East Greenbush. Since then, the coalition has dissolved, but Bethlehem and Colonie still have active programs.
Bethlehem has doled out more than 600 cases in the court’s 15-year history.
All offenders are also required to return to court to sit on a future jury. It’s not uncommon for them to volunteer to be jurors or even members of the court, said Charland.
While jurors don’t need any specialized training, the students who play the roles in the courtroom take a 6-week course to prepare them to be lawyers, judges, clerks and advocates. They trade off roles case-to-case.
Every case involves a lot of preparation, said recent high school graduate Jordan Herrington, because while mentors offer help, the students are ultimately in charge and make decisions on how to angle their arguments.
`You have a lot of freedom in what you do,` Herrington said. He became involved in the court through his interest in law (his father’s on the Bethlehem police force), but he’ll also be studying physics at college.
`You have to do a lot of work,` agreed sophomore Alisa White, who has every intention of making it to law school.
`Law is one of the things I’m interested in…but it’s a great experience either way,` she said.
No matter what participants move on to in the future, participating in BYC helps them develop public speaking skills and become comfortable interacting with authority figures like police officers offering testimony.
`Basically, we have to teach kids to be a lawyer,` Charland said.
In addition to hearing real cases, the court members also engage in several mock trials during the year. At least one always involves a local Girl Scout troop sitting in as jurors. Last year, they heard a case based on the tale of `Jack and the Beanstalk.` Jack was handed community service hours for the crime of petit larceny.
For more on youth court or to find out how to volunteer, visit www.bethlehemyouthcourt.org.“