PANAMA CITY — Juvenile offenders who get their day in Bay County Teen Court get a lot more than a chance to explain their actions to a jury of their young peers.
If all goes according to plan, it’s the last time they’ll ever find themselves playing the role of defendant.
“Once they get through the program, you can see the light bulb come on,” said director Suzanne Cox. “It’s just a totally different child.”
Teen Court is a diversion program for first-time misdemeanor offenders between the ages of 8 and 17. Participation allows youth to avoid traditional juvenile court and a criminal record by admitting guilt and complying with the Teen Court regimen.
The program celebrated its 20th anniversary in May and has served more than 7,669 teens since its inception. Judge Judy Pittman Beibel and other forward-thinkers founded Bay County Teen Court in May 1994 after a visit to Sarasota to see the successful program there.
Teen Court is held on three Tuesdays each month during which the state “prosecutes” defendants accused of a misdemeanor crime in a sort of a role-play court session. Teen volunteers fill the roles of juror, legal counsel, bailiff and clerk. A local attorney takes the judge’s gavel.
The Oct. 14 docket covered some unsettling offenses. First up was a 12-year-old girl charged with battery for beating a former friend in the face for talking badly about her behind her back.
“Could you explain to the court what happened?” the prosecutor asked.
The defendant gave her account, describing how she’d gone with a friend to the victim’s home and knocked on her front door to confront her. The argument escalated into a fight and the defendant said she joined in the beating “to fit in” and “look cool.”
When asked if she felt any remorse for giving in to peer pressure to commit a violent act, the defendant gave a sheepish response.
“I feel bad for what I did because she didn’t do anything to me physically,” she said.
One of Teen Court’s objectives is to educate teens on the consequences they could face if charged as an adult for the same crime. Volunteer Judge Quinten Broxton, a local juvenile defender, explained the severity of the girl’s offense carried the potential for the defendant to have a second-degree misdemeanor on her record with a sentence of up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Next, the jury heard the case of a 13-year-old boy who’d been suspended when marijuana and related paraphernalia were found in his bag at school.
“I was going to use them to smoke,” the defendant said of the pipe and two lighters found in his possession.
In his hearing, the prosecutor and jury learned the boy started smoking marijuana occasionally during the summer and had done so before school a couple times. The prosecutor asked the boy if he was aware of what marijuana does to the user.
“It can kill brain cells and get you high,” he said.
Each offender is given a chance to express regret for their actions prior to sentencing, but this defendant was not showing much.
“They don’t teach you much at that school anyways,” he said.
Broxton told the defendant his grandmother, who the boy had lived with since he was 7, could be charged with possession and taken to jail if he were to leave any remnants of cannabis on her property.
Teen Court punishment is doubled for drug-related offenses. All participants in the program are drug tested. Offenders who test positive get education from a medical examiner on the consequences of drug use. Parents and juveniles also are screened by a counselor to see if additional services are needed.
“I’ve been working with delinquent kids for 22 years,” said assistant director Randy Jordan. “When I go to the jail now, I still see some of them. They didn’t learn.”
Jordan said juveniles referred to Teen Court come from every walk of life and socioeconomic class. He said circumstances in life are not always the strongest factor in why kids commit misdemeanor crimes.
“There’s no real catalyst, except for drug use,” Jordan said. He said when youth cross the line to accept drug use, their mind shifts to being open to committing other illegal acts.
The program strives to give a meaningful experience when attempting to rehabilitate youth. Staple consequences are multiple sessions of jury duty, 16 to 64 hours of community service, a tour of Bay County Jail and education on communication and other life skills.
Community service hours are deputy supervised and usually consists of doing yard work for the elderly, disabled and hospice patients referred by churches, social services and code enforcement. Offenders also are of service at community events and city cleaning projects.
“We try to do worthwhile projects,” Cox said. “If it’s something we can do, we do it.”
Some are assigned essays with topics exploring wrongful deeds and letters of apology to the victims.
A part of the sentence doled out to the 12-year-old facing battery charges was to write a letter of apology to the former friend she beat up and a 700-word essay on thinking before she acts. The boy caught with marijuana was assigned an essay about the effects his drug of choice would have on his brain.
Cox said a large number of offenders return to volunteer when their obligation is complete.
“It’s been a very rewarding program,” she said. “I’ve got kids that come back 15 years later just to say hello.”
Children are referred to Teen Court by law enforcement, the State Attorney’s Office, the Department of Juvenile Justice and school resource officers. Cox said upon referral, the goal is to get offenders to a first appearance as soon as possible.
“The quicker you get to them, the better chance of them not getting another charge,” she said.
Xavian Pinkney, a 16-year-old junior at Bay High School, has volunteered for the past two years since he first appeared as a defendant when he was arrested for stealing.
Pinkney said he’ll never forget doing 24 community service hours of yard work in the summer heat. He’s thankful the program helped set him straight.
“It was definitely life changing,” he said.