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Teen Court Related Areas
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JUROR Participates as a member of a six person to twelve-person jury. Teen jury determines the sentence to defendant after reviewing the facts of the case. Using the established sentence grid, the jury must come to a unanimous decision, keeping in mind the assigned consequences are designed to hold the youth responsible for his/her actions, and requires the youth to be accountable to the community and victim. ATTORNEY Attorneys are assigned in teams of two and sometimes three (two for prosecution, two for defense) per case. A new and inexperienced attorney is assigned with an experienced attorney for the first few cases and/or until the youth is comfortable. A separate Attorney Manual is available for all attorneys. Youth acting as attorneys must be willing to come to court prepared to present their case. Case paperwork must be handled in a confidential manner and shredded upon completion of case. Defense attorneys are asked to call their clients prior to court. PROSECUTOR: The prosecutor's role is to represent the state; to represent the public interest by requesting a sentence that is strict but fair; to avoid playing judge, and to maintain respect for the judicial system. DEFENSE COUNSEL: The role of defense counsel is to represent a client zealously within the bounds of the law. The defense counsel must not represent persons if his/her ability to represent them effectively is impaired. Like the prosecutor, the defense counsel has the duty to maintain public respect for the judicial system. MASTER JURY JUDGE The Master Jury Judge is in charge of the master jury hearing and follows the Master Jury Script. The judge will ensure that questioning of the witness by jurors is thorough and on-track and that each juror asks a minimum of one question. Stays during deliberations and makes certain that the discussion pertains to the case. Administers after-sentencing instructions to defendant. BAILIFF The Bailiff calls the jurors to the jury box at the start of each hearing. Upon completion of the hearing, the bailiff leads the jury to the deliberation room and monitors the jury at all times. After deliberation, the bailiff leads the jury back into the courtroom. The bailiff is also responsible for maintaining order in the courtroom and assisting the judge upon request. COURT CLERK The clerk sits next to the judge during the entire court session. The clerk completes the clerk docket as the cases progress. He/she also assists the judge upon request. The sign-in clerk assists the coordinator prior to court at the back table. As jurors. volunteers, and defendants enter the courtroom, the sign-in clerk helps with jury assignment and answers questions. |
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