Have you heard about Parker’s Teen Court? This exciting program has been serving the Parker community for five years. An orientation for the Teen Court program will be held on Feb. 24 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Interested teens are encouraged to attend and parents are welcome! The orientation will be held at Parker Town Hall, 20120 E. Mainstreet. Teen Court applications are available online at www.parkeronline.org.
Teen Court provides Parker youth with an opportunity to get involved with the court system and earn community service hours. The Parker Teen Court was started in an effort to involve youth in Parker in the judicial process while offering appropriate sentencing for juvenile offenders. This community-based program was designed to hold first-time juvenile misdemeanor offenders accountable, while also providing a positive and educational experience through peer mentoring.
The program is currently accepting youth who are interested in volunteering to serve as jurors, bailiffs and attorneys. To serve as a teen attorney for the program, you must be at least 14 years old. All other positions are open to youth 12 to 17 years old. Teens can use time volunteered in Court toward mandatory community service hours for graduation, honor societies, a job resume or a college application.
Teen Court sessions are generally held Wednesday or Thursday evenings during the year. The time commitment is as little as one evening per month. Training sessions are held twice a year with additional advanced training sessions held throughout the year to improve performance.
The cases heard in Teen Court are real. Some of the charges that participants may hear include: assault, destruction of property, disorderly conduct, ?reworks, littering, petty theft, possession of alcohol, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana and shoplifting. Teen Court does not consider traffic offenses.
Please contact Sandra Gutierrez with additional questions at sgutierrez@parkeronline.org or 303.805.3171.