Teen court learning experience

Joshua McLaurin, 13, and Mariah Griego, 13, hovered over paperwork in a conference room in the Clovis Teen Court building Monday afternoon as they prepared for a trial at the Curry County Courthouse.

CMI staff photo: Alisa Boswell

Left to right, Charles Hernandez, 16, Jose Alvarado, 13, and Isaiah Gabaldon, 14, all lawyers and prosecutors in the teen court program, have dinner as they discuss an upcoming trial on Monday. The three boys said defendant teens who come through the program often do not repeat crimes because they are intimidated by the court atmosphere.

"Did this defendant have a drug and alcohol screen done?" McLauren asked the program's director, Karen Lard.

"Do you want me to check?" Lard responded.

"Yes, please," McLaurin requested, then he and Griego were back at it again, determining the sentencing for a teenager who admitted to battery.

McLauren said it was the defendant's second time going through teen court, the first having been for theft.

"A lot of the kids do learn from their mistakes, but some of them you see back in here again," McLaurin said. "There's one kid I've seen in here three times."

Lard and Portales Teen Court Program Coordinator Mary Poyner said the two local teen court programs are not only an alternative form of punishment for teens, but the programs also teach teens about how the judicial system works.

CMI staff photo: Alisa Boswell

Mariah Griego, 13, and Joshua McLaurin, 13, discuss sentencing for a teen defendant Monday afternoon at the Clovis Teen Court Program office. The two teens have been involved in teen court since mid-2011. The program is run strictly by teens with adult supervision. The teens step into the roles of lawyers, bailiffs and jurors, deciding sentencing and punishments for teens who have committed crimes.

"They start out as a defendant then end up being an attorney," said Poyner, who said the program entails teenagers correcting their peers.

"It gives the kids a chance to learn from their mistakes without it going on their permanent record," said Portales DWI coordinator Riki Seat. "The more (caseload) you can take off the Juvenile Probation Office, the better."

The teen court program is under the DWI Program.

Lard and Poyner said the teen courts are run exactly as an actual courtroom would be, but all positions with the exception of the judge are filled by teenagers ranging from 13 to 18 years old.

"They take it very seriously," Poyner said of the teens involved in the program. "It teaches them what a jury's role is, a judge's role, a bailiff's and so on."

Lard and Poyner said sentencing for both programs can include community service hours, serving as a teen court juror or counseling and classes.

Poyner said the Portales program is currently lacking in counseling, because it needs volunteers to counsel teen defendants and their families.

Lard said when she began the Clovis Teen Court Program 18 years ago, there were 51 teen court programs in the nation. Now there are more than 1,100.

"It's amazing to me to sit back and see how far these kids have come and what they're doing now," Lard said, telling stories of children who began as teen court defendants then went on to be volunteers in the program.

Lard said one past teen court youth is now a lawyer in Albuquerque and another is about to graduate with a Ph.D.

"It's funny because I can't remember what I wore last week but I can remember all of these kids and where they're at and what they're doing," Lard said laughing.

She said many of the teens keep in touch with her after they are grown and have started their careers.

Lard and Poyner said the teenagers involved in the program make all the decisions, whether it is about attending a conference or how to sentence defendants. Adults are present for supervision only.

"Sometimes, people lose faith in kids because they hear all the negative they do," Seat said. "Seeing all the positive things they are doing together in this program renews your faith in them."

"Every day, it makes me more aware of the struggles our teenagers go through," Lard said of the program. "There's so much more drama going on with teens now then there was 18 years ago. They teach me something every day."