YOUNG 1ST-TIME OFFENDERS GET 2ND CHANCE IN TEEN COURT

The defendants were teens, and so were the prosecutors, the defense
lawyers, the jurors and even the bailiff for the first El Paso County Teen
Court at the Socorro Independent School District headquarters Wednesday.

The pilot program, a collaboration between the county attorney's office and
the Socorro district, is aimed at keeping first-time offenders from
repeating their crimes while also providing adolescents a firsthand civics
lesson.

"This is giving me a good outlook as to how the criminal justice system
works," said Enrique Estorga, a 16-year-old Montwood High School junior who
was one of the defense lawyers during the more than three-hour session
conducted by Judge Phil Martinez of the 327th District Court.

His co-counsel, Montwood freshman Luis Velasquez, said the job proved more
difficult than he expected. "I give a lot of credit to defense lawyers,"
the 15-year-old said. "It is hard to find good things about your defendants
sometimes."

Estorga and Velasquez were among approximately 20 student volunteers who
were trained by lawyers from the county attorney's office for Teen Court.
County Attorney Jose Rodriguez said he started the Teen Court program in El
Paso because he was impressed by the program's success in other cities
across Texas and the United States.

"This is an alternative to the juvenile justice system," Rodriguez said.
"If (the defendants) successfully complete the program, they won't have a
juvenile record."

Rodriguez said Teen Court also helps "promote understanding between the
community and the youth."

Teens are eligible for a Teen Court if they are first-time offenders
younger than 18 who have committed a Class C misdemeanor, which can range
from truancy and traffic violations to unlawful possession of small amounts
of drugs and possession of alcohol. Punishments include at least one Teen
Court jury duty and up to 60 hours of community service.

Now the program is only in the Socorro school district, but if the yearlong
pilot goes well, Rodriguez said, he hopes to expand and offer Teen Court to
the entire city.

SISD Superintendent Don Schulte said, "It's a wonderful concept from an
educator's perspective. School districts are doing a better job of
preparing kids to pass tests, but at what cost? Perhaps we are neglecting
to prepare our kids to be good citizens."