Teen Court tackles serious issues, changes young lives
by 2L Oscar Medellin
La Raza Law Students Association welcomed 30 teen jurors from Manual Arts High School on April 6 to host Teen Court — a juvenile diversion program for first-time juvenile offenders — at USC Law. The event marked the third Teen Court to be held at USC since La Raza first became involved with the program.
The high school students were treated to a full day of programming, including a mentor lunch with Professor Jody Armour, an undergraduate admissions presentation, and a question-and-answer session with a panel of law students who shared their educational and career experiences with the high schoolers.
The day culminated with two back-to-back hearings in the Ackerman Courtroom involving two first-time juvenile offenders, and was adjudicated by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Sotelo. First-year law students Justin Cerrillo (left) and Sergio Salcedo (right) conduct jury deliberations at Teen Court.
“Perhaps the most important thing about Teen Court is that it teaches these young students the value of rehabilitation over retribution, and that everyone deserves a second opportunity to prove him or herself,” said Justin Cerrillo, a first-year law student and active Teen Court participant who presented the first case on petty theft to the teen jurors.
Upon hearing the facts of each case and questioning the defendant, it is up to the jurors to create a set of sentencing recommendations that will best help the defendant correct problem areas in his or her life.
“I’ve seen sentencing recommendations from mandatory drug testing to grade-improvement contracts,” Cerrillo notes. “The teen jurors have to get creative in order to tackle some real problems that plague our youth.”
Juvenile defendants who fully comply with their probationary sentences are able to avoid establishing a permanent juvenile record. They also are asked to participate as a juror in future Teen Court events.
Teen Court is run in conjunction with the Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles County Probation Department, Manual Arts High School, and O’Melveny & Myers. Trials generally are held once a month at Manual Arts High School. Law students who are interested in becoming involved can contact La Raza’s new community service chair, Sven Kaludzinski (kaludzin@usc.edu), for more details.
