Monongalia County Teen Court

       The Monongalia County Teen Court began in 1997.  Teen Court is designed to interrupt patterns of criminal behavior by promoting positive feelings of self-esteem, motivating self-improvement, and developing a healthy attitude toward authority. Teen Court is based on the philosophy that a youthful law violator does not continue to be an offender when a peer jury decides punishment. 

      Teen Court cases are real cases where an arrest has been made and the charges have progressed through the normal channels of magistrate or circuit court.  Monongalia County probation offices screen cases for any prior arrest history and when appropriate refers cases  to  Teen Court.  Teen Court is held year round.  Cases are heard on Wednesday or Thursday evenings. 

      Teen defendant participation is entirely voluntary and requires an advance guilty plea. The program is available to first time juvenile misdemeanor offenders. This category of offense might include such charges as: shoplifting, vandalism, possession of alcohol, disorderly conduct, trespassing, interference in a school function or petty theft. Teen defendants must have parental or a guardian consent. 

      Teen Court requires a cooperative effort among the circuit court judges, the juvenile probation officers, the local education system and local lawyers.  The clerks, bailiffs, prosecuting and defense attorneys, and all jurors, are all high school or middle school volunteers. These  volunteers receive instruction and guidance from local attorneys.

       In Teen Court, the judge, a volunteer local attorney, introduces the teen defendant to the teenage jurors who are informed of the teen defendant’s charges. After hearing the evidence presented by a teenage prosecutor and defense attorney, the jury discusses the points made by the teenage attorneys on both sides of the argument, and comes to complete agreement on the appropriate sentence for the teen defendant and the offense.

      The jury's decision is written down and handed to the judge who reconvenes the court, calls the teen defendant before the bench and the jury reads the sentence. The Teen Court coordinator approves the sentence and the teen defendant and his parents sign an agreement to carry out the sentence imposed. Teen defendants are in the program for about three months.


Contact: 
Monongalia County Teen Court
Christopher Mullins
Teen Court Coordinator
235 High Street, Room 311
Morgantown, WV 26505
(304) 292-1236

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