Teen Court provides peerless opportunity for local youth

While peer pressure can famously impact a teenager's actions, it's a jury of one's peers that just might settle the score.

Making that happen is a peer-to-peer program called Teen Court. And once a month in the Putnam Circuit Court courtroom, teenagers from the four county school corporations experience real cases that have been deferred to Teen Court.

Banner Graphic/ERIC BERNSEE Acting as the prosecuting attorney, Maddie McHugh addresses the court and acting Teen Court judge Austin Malayer during the latest Teen Court session in Putnam Circuit Court.

That's what brought 18 nicely dressed teen volunteers -- 12 girls, six boys -- to the Putnam County Courthouse on a sultry Monday evening

Those teen volunteers play the roles of prosecutor, defense attorney, bailiff, clerk and a 12-member jury as they present the facts and arguments in the case and ultimately decide punishment if required.

Seelye Stoffregen, a Greencastle High School sophomore, and Ashley Schroer, a South Putnam High School junior, are veterans of the Teen Court program. Stoffregen scampered to the courthouse right after cross country practice the other night, while Schroer rotated to the courtroom after a volleyball practice session.

Schroer was set to play the prosecutor with Stoffregen as defense attorney but their case hit a last-minute snag and was scratched. That, however, didn't affect their enthusiasm for the program.

"I kind of want to be a lawyer," Stoffregen said, indicating a keen interest in the legal system.

As another Teen Court case unfolded, Stoffregen was one of the jurors and emerged as the jury foreman.

Schroer, meanwhile, wants to be a nurse yet sees her four years in the Teen Court program as a valuable experience.

"This is still an exceptionally cool program," she said outside the courtroom.

Banner Graphic/ERIC BERNSEE Putnam County Teen Court Director Linda Merkel (left) briefs volunteers Ashley Schroer (right) of South Putnam High School and Seelye Stoffregen of Greencastle on what to expect from the latest cases prior to the recent Teen Court session in Putnam Circuit Court.

Most of the time the cases that make it to Teen Court deal with underage drinking or perhaps shoplifting. This night the defendant was charged with harassment of another student at her school.

Local attorneys alternate who sits in as Teen Court judge with Austin Malayer handling the duties this particular Monday evening. Eddie Felling has done several of the recent sessions.

"This is Austin's first time as Teen Court judge," Teen Court Director Linda Merkel said before court commenced. "We're baptizing him tonight."

With Merkel as director and Renee Marstellar and Samantha Richardson of Juvenile Probation as advisers, the program allows youth who commit a first-time offense to be eligible for referral to Teen Court, a diversionary, second-chance opportunity for youth to cor rect their mistakes by successfully completing their sentence disposition within a required timeframe. Because of the Teen Court experience, the indiscretion does not go on the offender's record.

Merkel and Marstellar were in court to oversee the process but "basically the judge handles everything," Merkel said.

Cathy Wesstman of Juvenile Probation was also in the courtroom throughout and accompanied the jurors to the jury room for their deliberations.

Teen Court has been active locally for more than nine years as a collaborative effort of Juvenile Probation, the Putnam County Youth Development Commission and Judge Matt Headley and Putnam Circuit Court.

"Students can volunteer starting in grade seven," Merkel said, pegging the volunteers' ages as 13-18, while cases involve youth age 10-17.

As the harassment case was presented, Maddie McHugh of South Putnam laid out the prosecution's case, while North Putnam's Caleb Duncan provided the defense.

McHugh detailed the threat and seriousness of it, while Duncan offered a defense that focused on "texting that got out of hand."

During testimony, the defendant said, "I was just trying to pull a prank."

She was also asked by McHugh if she had received punishment at home or school due to the event.

Banner Graphic/ERIC BERNSEE Teen Court jurors deliberate sentencing with Seelye Stoffregen (with pen and paper in front of her) serving as jury foreman in their latest case.

She could not "hang out with friends for a week," she said, and got three days in the GRASP program and one day of in-school suspension.

Duncan defended the teen by saying she "is a young girl; she's not a bad person. All young people make mistakes."

The jurors, however, noted that the defendant "didn't seem remorseful in court."

Deliberating in the adjacent Jury Room, the jurors were not even dissuaded by a passing storm knocking out the lights for a few moments, continuing their discussions to produce a sentence that ordered 10 hours of community service, two stints as a Teen Court juror, a 500-word essay on the dangers and consequences of harassment, a verbal apology and apology letters to the victim, her parents and the school principal.

"I hope you understand you got a break here tonight," Judge Malayer told the defendant who nodded her agreement.

He also reminded the teen volunteers that they had taken an oath of confidentiality not to disclose any identities or details involved in the case.

"We've got some really good kids," Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Marstellar noted, calling the Teen Court experience great for their future resumes and certainly "a good experience if they want to go on to be a lawyer or a judge."

Westman, the Juvenile Probation assistant who wholeheartedly embraces the Teen Court experience as well, said the program is quite effective.

"Rarely," she said, "do we have a Teen Court kid show back up in Juvenile Probation."

That's the best kind of peer pressure anyone could ask for.