On a recent Thursday afternoon, two teenagers appeared in court after taking responsibility for minor offenses they committed in separate incidents that brought them into contact with law enforcement.
While an official hearing, this one diverged from standard proceedings in several ways, most markedly in that the teens' peers filled the roles of counsel and jury, and — with the pair's input — decided how they would make amends.
Coming to order that day was a session of the Boys and Girls Club of the Redwoods Teen Court, a diversion program led by local youth for local youth under the guidance of adult mentors with a focus on providing kids who have strayed off course a chance to reset.
At four tables pushed together in the conference center at the nonprofit's Eureka headquarters, Superior Court Judge Lawrence Killoran sat wearing a dress shirt instead of his usual judicial robe alongside seven teen volunteers and two participants as each case got underway. He explained in a calming voice how their situations might be handled in a traditional court setting, including possible consequences.
Then, the Teen Court advocate representing the pair offered an opening statement, highlighting their positive attributes, from good grades and community involvement to their hobbies. Each of the two then had a chance to present their account of what brought them there that day.
One case at a time, going around the table in order, the teens jurors had a chance to ask questions. Some centered on the incident ("Do you regret your actions?" and "Did you feel peer pressure?") while others focused on them as individuals ("What plans do you have for your future?" and "What are you stressed about?").
When Killoran's turn came, he used the same avuncular tone as earlier to ask which subjects they liked best in school and shared some personal anecdotes, relating to one how he also grew up in a large family. And he reflected back on their answers, including about how their actions impacted others.
"What I'm hearing," he said to one, "is that you have empathy."
Because Teen Court is designed to be restorative, the terms used to describe the process and those involved are reflective of that goal, with advocates instead of attorneys, hearings instead of trials and assignments instead of sentences.
After closing remarks, which included the participants' own suggestions for possible restorative options they might be assigned — from going on a ride along with local law enforcement to joining a teen counseling group — everyone left the room to allow jurors to deliberate.
The goal of the Teen Court is simple: Provide second chances for adolescents who have gotten in trouble through a "program based on restorative justice, where teens focus on supporting and helping youth instead of merely punishing," giving them "the option to restore relationships, be held accountable and move forward without the shadow of a police record."
And it's proven successful. Between March of 2001 and October of 2023, according to Teen Court's latest annual report, 633 cases were successfully completed, with only 57 of the teens who participated — 9 percent — reoffending during that period.
Some of the participants are referred to the program by the county's probation department or local law enforcement, others by their school district for mainly low-level, first-time offenses that often range from shoplifting and vandalism to vaping and possession of cannabis on campus. While voluntary, the program offers teens an opportunity to learn from their mistakes and set things right without being saddled by a juvenile record or school sanctions, such as suspension or expulsion.
Run in partnership with the Humboldt County Superior Court, the county's Probation Department, school districts and police departments, the local Teen Court was the first in California, starting as an all-volunteer program in 1987. After it began fading out during the 1990s because of all the work needed to keep it running, the Superior Court, Probation and now retired Judge Christopher Wilson were instrumental in bringing on a dedicated staff to ensure continuity, and in 2001, the Teen Court program moved under the umbrella of the Boys and Girls Club of the Redwoods, where it remains today.
While the staff "fades into the background" during the actual hearings, they are there for all the behind the scenes work that takes place in advance and afterward, according to Teen Court Director Sacha Marini. That includes overseeing in-person intake meetings with the youth and their parents or guardians to start the process after one of the partnering agencies sends over a referral.
"That is a chance for us to get to know them, to build a relationship, answer any questions and then ask them a bunch of questions that are going to help student advocates understand this youth," said Marini, who has been with the program since 2007. "We'll get a narrative with the referral form that will either be a police report from probation or law enforcement or from the school, it's just a written narrative of what the incident is about. So at intake, we are getting more of an input from the youth or the parent themself about the incident, but also who is this kid beyond this incident."
In general, she said, hearings take place within a month or so of being referred, with a youth advocate also reaching out in advance to the teens involved, getting to know them and "talking about how best to bring their story out."
While some hearings take place at the Redwood Boys and Girls Club, more serious ones or those involving older teens can be held in the more formal setting of a courtroom at the Humboldt County Courthouse, according to Marini, which include attorneys mentoring the teen advocates on how to present their case. Other factors are taken into consideration in deciding the setting, too, she said, like if the youth involved had difficult experiences with the court system as a child during a custody case or if they have a high level of anxiety.
The program, she notes, is "a trauma-informed process as much as possible."
"Different kids are going to be a different fit for the process," Marini said.
After the jury hears the case and comes back with the assignments, the participant has two months to complete their tasks, which can include anything from writing a letter of apology and enrolling in an afterschool program to making a family dinner, participating in a youth counseling group or taking smoking cessation classes.
"People will go, 'But that doesn't look like punishment,'" Marini said. "And yeah, that's not the point. We are trying to connect these youths with more protective assets, more pro-social activities, because a lot of research says the more youth are engaged with things that they care about or discover they care about, the less likely they're having the time or the interest in getting involved in mischief that's going to take them off track."
In addition, each teen who goes through the process is required to participate as a juror in two or three cases to serve alongside the youth volunteers, which, she said, "gives them the opportunity to be on both sides of the process and to leverage their experience to help someone who might be struggling."
During that time between, the staff keeps in regular contact with the youth and their families, checking in to see how their assignments are going and help them "break things down into manageable steps," Marini said.
About halfway through, their teen advocate also reaches out, she said, to see "how have things been. So it's not just adults involved in that case management."
Marini said about 10 percent of the teens referred to Teen Court go on to volunteer with the program because they "found something positive in it and they really enjoyed it."
"One of things strikes me is we have things built into the hearing process that build social and emotional learning," she said. "When the jury goes to deliberate, they talk about what should be assigned but then we also ask them to identify three strengths that they saw in youth through the process, so that's really being able to remind this youth at a critical time, when they may be struggling, that they are not a throwaway, that they have strengths.
"It can be really hard to face up when you've made a bad decision but that can lead to cascading feelings, like, 'I'm worthless,' 'It's not worth trying anymore,'" Marini continued. "So we really try to be like, 'We saw you are very accountable,' or 'You really show creativity,' and be able to reflect back to them ... I find it to be very powerful and I think to myself, 'How many places are there where teens can come together from different schools, different locations and be provided a forum to speak to each other on that level.'"
In addition to helping the youth who come through the program, Teen Court also provides the young people in the community who volunteer an opportunity to give back while gaining important life skills, with Marini noting the program is unique in providing a place where teens are "given the agency to address the issues they are facing themselves."
"They are helping each other with the problems and struggles that they have and working together to troubleshoot and address those issues and that's really so inspiring to witness and be a part of. The kids themselves are doing that work," she said, adding that is "the magic in the process." She noted, "They always really have very creative and unique perspectives on the situation that I, as an adult, may not have thought of."
One of those student volunteers is Ethan LoCicero, who served as the advocate for both teens at the recent hearing and has been part of the program for three years, starting with Zoom meeting during the pandemic. He now serves on both local and state leadership boards.
"It really has been a monumental part of my life in my high school years," said the 17 year old, who plans to major in political science with an eye on a possible legal career in his future. "I hope to come back later to act as a mentor and fulfill that role the mentors have played for me."
While the primary referring agencies have ebbed and flowed, Marini said the probation department and local school districts have been the main sources of the 40 or so annual cases that go through the Teen Court process in recent years.
Last July, the probation department helped secure a three-year state Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act grant to open a satellite program based at the Gene Lucas Community Center to serve the Eel River Valley.
In an email to the Journal, probation's Juvenile Division Director Megan Gotcher said the move was in response to "an increase in the number of referrals coming from that community."
"Fortuna needed a resource to refer youth and families to at the diversion level of the responsivity edge," Gotcher said. "This allowed families in Southern Humboldt County communities to participate in a valuable program without traveling the additional distance to Eureka. ... Teen Court is a valuable resource to divert low-level criminal activity. Probation is excited to partner with community resources at the diversionary level."
Raven Majors, the Fortuna Teen Court coordinator, said the response from teens looking to participate has been incredible, so much so that they've taken to holding mock trials and training sessions while they wait for the caseload to catch up with the volunteer level.
"We are definitely not having an issue in that department," Majors said, while adding that they are "in desperate need of adult mentors."
Memorandums of understanding have been established with several school districts in the area to refer cases, Majors said. But she said the program is still working to bring in the local police departments, as well, noting the Eel River Valley is family-focused and community-based but is also a place that "believes in consequences."
She notes that the Teen Court goal is not only to "catch kids before they go down too much of a path that they can't come back from," but also provide an opportunity for local kids to give back to their community.
"It's amazing to be able to see them volunteer and participate and to see them grow into community-centered, social-forward thinkers," Majors said.
Back at the hearing in Eureka, during the brief wait for the jurors to come back in each case, Killoran took time to engage each of the teen participants in conversation while reassuring them, "The hard part is over."
After everyone was brought back in, the jurors relayed their positive feedback, describing one of the teens as "responsible, open minded and intelligent," and the other as "honest, friendly and independent." The assignments that they selected included a police ride along for one and a family dinner and attendance at a youth counseling group for the other.
The judge then praised the jurors and LoCicero for "doing a really great job," and the participants for giving "really honest answers."
In an interview afterward, Killoran said he became involved in the program about three years ago, when Wilson, his colleague on the bench who had worked with the program for more than two decades, brought up that Teen Court was going to need another judge as he was preparing for retirement.
With his days as youth sports coach beginning to wane as his own children grew older, Killoran said, "It just seemed like a really natural fit."
Killoran said he's "proud of the kids that volunteer and the kids who go through the process," noting not only the low recidivism rate of the program but how everyone involved wants "the best for them. We really do and that's why we do it."
For the most part, he said, he "doesn't try to interject too much" during the proceedings, noting the teens have "a really good handle on what's happening."
"I'm proud and I'm honored to be the judicial mentor judge, and I'll do it as long as they'll have me," Killoran said.
Kimberly Wear (she/her) is the digital editor at the Journal. Reach her at (707) 442-1400, extension 323, or kim@northcoastjournal.com.