Topic: Code of Conduct

Question: Would you please check with other courts regarding whether they have a code of conduct or rules for jurors? Our only rule is that conviction of any crime beyond a traffic ticket means suspension till they are off probation. The reason we are looking at it is the possibility of one of our jurors being pregnant. We want to be clear about what we would do in situations like that, and, if possible, have it spelled out before the problem arises.

Responses from Coordinators:

I don't see what the problem is. There isn't really a matter of conduct here to discipline. A volunteer getting pregnant is not against the law (unless you're going to push for statutory charges against the girl, but then you also have to do it against the boy). You may not want to have her on the juror, if you are following typical State juror pool regulations, i.e., pregnant women do not have to do jury duty.

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Eric Watkins
Owego Youth Court, NY
juvenile@stny.rr.com

Our guidelines clearly state that a member must hold him/herself to a higher standard of behavior in both the community and at home. In the event of "contact with police" the member must report the incident to the coordinator within 48 hours. I periodically reinforce to members about what it is to be a role model.

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Nathan Miller
Wright County Teen Court
Buffalo, MN
nathan.miller@co.wright.mn.us

We have the same basic rule: You cannot be on probation and serve as a juror until you are off probation. We spend a fair amount of time talking about appropriate conduct since they represent the teen court program to the public, but have not established consequences for other issues.

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Shirley Santillana
Volusia County Teen Court, Florida
ssantillana@circuit7.org

The question is not that clear. Are we talking about volunteer jurors or jurors that are required to be there as part of their sanctions. All of my jurors must attend a judicial awareness class that covers the responsibility of the juror prior to their sitting on a jury. However we encourage our clients to come back and participate on the jury or in teen court provided they have completed their sanctions. I had a young lady in here on a retail theft charge and she has been volunteering as a trial clerk for me for the past two years and made new friend, new choices and positive decisions about her life.

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Bob Henry
Brown County Educational Service Center
Georgetown, OH
bhenry@scoca-k12.org

Pregnancy would not be an issue, since Teen Court is a high school program with Carnagie Units of credit being awarded. My interpretation of Ohio law eliminates pregnancy as a discriminatory item for continued enrollment.  Further, our court only considers misdemeanor criminal charges, not status offenses. So, social mistakes would not be heard by our court.

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Karen Green
Placer County Peer Court, CA
jgreengolf@aol.com

Our only code of conduct focuses on our Youth and Adult Board Members. Any citation/charges brought against a Board Member requires suspension from the Board until the matter has been resolved.

Frankly in the situation given, I cannot imagine suspending a juror for being pregnant. Why wouldn't we want to provide a supportive responsible environment rather than shun a youngster in that situation?

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Laura McFadden
Ignacio Teen Court, CO
lmcfadden7@hotmail.com

I'm writing from the Ignacio Teen Court program in Ignacio, CO. Since most of our jurors are serving as a part of their sentence, we don't have too many rules...they mostly concern respect for the Court and the Defendant. They are: be on time, no gum or tobacco chewing, smoking or eating in the courtroom, appropriate dress (ex: no emblems, ref. to alcohol or drugs, rips or holes, hats, tank tops, etc.), no violence, profanity, laughter, loud outbursts, etc. in the courtroom, anyone arriving under the influence of alcohol or drugs will not be admitted and will be turned over to the police, and all must abide by the oath of confidentiality.

In our program, anyone can be a juror if they wish to participate. There are more stringent guidelines, however, for bailiff, clerk and attorneys.

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Iowa County

We have rules for volunteers and offenders set up from no shorts, hats, gum to pregnancy. We did have a volunteer who became pregnant during her Junior year of high school. Fortunately, she did not feel up to participating after her fourth month but she was informed that we would not be using her. We cannot in good conscious condone teen pregnancy and by allowing the continued participation in Teen Court that would have been the case. If your youth is an offender completing a sentence, I would meet with her and her parents and explain that she may continue only after the child is born? I don't know how I would handle it but it really isn't good to have them involved with your Teen Court program during a pregnancy.

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Nancy Kaplan
Hernando County Teen Court
Brooksville, FL
nancyk@co.hernando.fl.us

I never thought of barring pregnant teens. I have had a couple. They need all the help they can get to be better parents. I exempt them from the "shirt tucked in" rule. They have to look a little harder for community service sites that do not require physical work. Other than that, they are treated like everyone else. We have a dress code and conduct code which are pretty standard. Once, when I took a group to observe real criminal court, the judge invited my group to ask questions. One of my kids said, "Your honor, why do you let people come into your courtroom in shorts and muscle shirts?" The judge and I blushed. I added a new rule "no visible piercings other than in earlobes. No visible tatoos." In our community these are considered pretty counter-culture. Maybe not in another community. Codes need to address the standards of the particular community. Another example, we have many economically disadvantaged families in ours. Therefore, I allow jeans as long as they are clean and neat. And not too saggy baggy.

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Susan Wolf
Fort Worth Teen Court, TX
WolfS@ci.fort-worth.tx.us

Fort Worth (unfortunately) has a lot (3-5 per year) of pregnant and/or young parents in our court. We first interview them to find out their due date and decide if they should be a part of the Teen Court process now or wait until after the baby is born. Our Judges will give them up to a 6 month extension to enroll in the program. If they feel they can complete the hours before the baby is born we accept them now. We do have a couple of agencies that will work with the pregnant teens giving them "light" work to do and we require them to attend parenting classes if they are not enrolled in the alternative learning center for pregnant teens. Most of them complete the requirements, those that do not pay the fine.

Our jurors who misbehave in court are sent home without credit or given extra jury terms. If the misbehavior warrants we remove them from the program. Parents who misbehave are removed from the courtroom and run the risk of their teens being removed from the program.

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Mark Jacyszyn
Sitka Youth Court Director
sitkayouthcourt@hotmail.com

I found the worried comments about the pregnant juror to be very disturbing. Since when is it a crime to be pregnant? Since it is not--it should seem clear that the pregnant juror be allowed to participate.

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Wendy Leach
North Star Youth Court, AK
nsyc@mosquitonet.com

I am going to fax you two NSYC documents. First, our ethics rules which were set-up and written by our youth volunteers, and then our policy and procedure manual which was written by an adult attorney (member of our Board and volunteer). Neither of these documents addresses pregnancy. But, it could be considered conduct unbecoming of a volunteer which is addressed in the ethics code.

It is my contention that we can set out expectations regarding alcohol and drug use, illegal behavior, and diligence as a volunteer, HOWEVER, trying to address this issue of sexual behavior and pregnancy, if it is consensual and legal, is difficult. My opinion, and this is my opinion only, is that she should allow the teen to continue to be involved if the teen wants to be.

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Jessica Olson
Peer Review Court of Linn County
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
jessica.olson@doc.state.ia.us

1. Dress Code - I am including jeans as unacceptable for court. I hesitated to do this initially as I did not know if some of our volunteers/families could afford dress clothes. Unfortunately, the volunteers have used this "loophole" to show up to court in jeans, even though they have dress clothes. Live and learn, I guess...
2. Guidelines for dismissal - several volunteers have not attended out bi-monthly meetings for 6 or more months; however, these absences have been excused. However, there is a difference in the ability level of volunteers who attend meetings versus those who miss them. Now, volunteers that miss more than 3 meetings in a one-year period will be required to make up parts and/or all of training before they will be scheduled for another hearing.

Peer Court volunteers are expected to act as role models within the community; however, youth (and adults) make poor decisions in various ways. We have a policy in place if a Peer Court volunteer commits a crime - it's talked about in Guidelines for Dismissal. Peer Court is about 2nd chances for youth offenders, and I am choosing to offer a similar 2nd chance a volunteer who may commit a crime. Going through Peer Court as a defendant isn't an option for a volunteer who commits a crime, and I think that is a consequence in itself. Our volunteers are very supportive of one another, and I think a volunteer that commits a crime can benefit from continued interaction and involvement in the program, while serving the legal consequences for her/his actions. It can also be a good learning tool for the volunteers, in the form of guest presentations about peer pressure, teen pregnancy, etc.

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Rosalyn Trum
Sarpy County Teen Court
rosalynt@sarpy.com

Our code of conduct is very general and is listed as "Expectations of Volunteers". (I will FAX it.) Basically, it states that volunteer teens will maintain standards of conduct consistent with the expectations of the justice system. Will obey all laws and school rules. Will behave as role models both in and out of the courtroom.

Five years ago we had a situation somewhat similar to what you have described. While we have not had a volunteer who was pregnant, we did have a student volunteer who had a 5-6 month old child. She had returned to high school following the birth of her child and seemed to be handling herself responsibly as a student and single parent. I allowed her to be a volunteer because I felt that her experience lent her some maturity not seen in many girls in similar situations. Because she seemed to have learned from her situation, I did not want to punish her for her mistake. I also felt that her involvement with teen court with be beneficial to her. (It should be noted that she did not have a juvenile record.) There were no repercussions because of this decision. Also, other volunteer teens from her school did not make any negative comments about her involvement. We do not allow volunteer teens to continue with teen court if they get a citation (other than a traffic ticket) until their file is closed by the county attorney. Interestingly enough, we have had a handful of volunteers who have gotten citations and have had the option of going through teen court. They all chose teen court rather than regular court. This was quite uncomfortable for them. But, some of them returned to be volunteers once they completed their conditions.

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Olivia Harrington
Duncanville Teen Court, TX
Oharrington@ci.duncanville.tx.us

Here are 2 items we require by our attorneys /clerks/bailiffs:

Ethics Statement
I, , understand all of the responsibilities involved in becoming a member of the Duncanville Teen Court program. By signing this paper, I agree to follow all of the rules of the Duncanville Teen Court.

• I will be present at all court proceedings where my attendance is required.
• As an attorney, I will take into consideration all the extra duties I must preform: Call clients ahead of time (defense); Prepare case(s) ahead of time; Call my team chief and Coordinator by Monday if I will not be present at a Teen Court date; Arrange for a substitute if I will be absent.
• I will keep all client information confidential and destroy the case information after court.
• I will be willing to substitute on alternate dates as an alternate (defense or prosecution) attorney.
• I understand failure to do any of these things may result in my suspension from Teen Court.

I agree to all of the conditions above and will try my best to do all of my duties as a member of Teen Court.

Confidentiality Statement
I solemnly swear that I shall keep confidential any specific information which comes to my knowledge in the course of a Teen Court case presentation, and I shall not identify, directly or indirectly, either audibly or in writing, any person participating as a defendant in the Teen Court program.

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Anne Dubinsky
City of Lewisville Teen Court, TX
adubinsk@cityoflewisville.com

Below is our current code of conduct. Although I have had a couple of respondents tell me they were pregnant during the intake interview, it has not been a frequent problem and we have not specifically addressed the issue. I will be interested to hear if other courts have a specific policy on this.

LEWISVILLE TEEN COURT CODE OF CONDUCT
As a participant of TEEN COURT, you are responsible for following the rules of conduct. These rules are for your protection as well as the protection of all TEEN COURT participants.

• Always conduct yourself in a professional manner taking the court proceedings seriously.
• Always responsibly represent the TEEN COURT program to others.
• Always be on time for all TEEN COURT sessions.
• Always maintain the confidentiality of information attained through Teen Court sessions.
• Always follow the TEEN COURT Dress Code.
• Always remain inside the City Hall building during all TEEN COURT sessions.
• Never use tobacco products, alcohol or illicit drugs while participating in a TEEN COURT session.
• No GUM, food or drink allowed in the courtroom.
• Never use inappropriate language during any TEEN COURT session.

DRESS CODE
All TEEN COURT participants are required to observe proper courtroom dress as follows:

• NO T-SHIRTS OR SHORTS.
• PARENTS – PLEASE, NO SHORTS.
• NO TORN UP JEANS!
• No halter tops, tank tops, spaghetti straps or bare midriffs allowed.
• No hats
• Always appear neat and clean.
• Shirt tails must be tucked in.
• Skirts and dresses should not be TOO short!
• Dress clothes are always preferred to show respect for the court.

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Stephen Nelson

I don't necessarily see pregnancy as a "problem". I wouldn't suspend anyone for being pregnant unless they couldn't fulfill their volunteer obligation. In fact, wouldn't it be better if a pregnant teen had more opportunities to be around productive role models by being a youth court participant, rather than sitting home watching Jerry Springer?

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Ann Francis
Kauai Teen Court
haleopio@hawaiian.net

In response to your request for information on our code of conduct, we do not try to enforce any code for behavior outside of court. If a respondent is re-arrested before he or she has completed Teen Court, we counsel both the respondent and the parents about what happened, but we do not suspend anyone. Pregnancy has not been an issue so far, but I am sure that it will come up, as we have a very high teen pregnancy rate here on Kaua'i. We would not treat a pregnant teen any differently than any other teen.

Our goal is to promote competency, so that a teen who completes the program will have more skills than when they began. To that end, suspension from the program has no place, as one cannot improve their skill level while suspended.

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