RAYMONDVILLE — Soon, many teenage defendants here will be tried by juries of their peers.
City commissioners have approved Municipal Court Judge Felicita Gutierrez’s plan to start a teen court program aimed at showing teenagers the workings of the judicial system.
“The kids learn about the judicial process and they get to be on the other side — on the jury panel — so they learn from both sides of the fence,” Gutierrez said yesterday.
In the Rio Grande Valley, Raymondville joins cities such as Brownsville and Mission, which run teen court programs.
As part of the program overseen by the Texas Municipal Courts Educational Center, teenage defendants charged with Class C misdemeanors, with the exception of domestic violence, will be eligible to participate for a $20 administrative fee.
In exchange for the teenagers’ participation, the Municipal Court will waive civil penalities such as traffic fines.
“We’re going to work with these kids,” Gutierrez said.
In this city struggling with high poverty rates, the program gives teenagers an alternative to paying Municipal Court fines.
“The parents don’t want to pay and the kids don’t have the money,” Gutierrez said.
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