Marion County Teen Court

Teen Court is made up of volunteers from local middle and high schools. These volunteers serve as jurors, clerks, and attorneys; the only adults in the program are the Coordinator and Judges. Defendants are required to serve as jurors in subsequent proceedings. The program is sponsored by the local County Circuit Judiciary.

The Teen Court concept is based on the philosophy that youthful offenders will not continue to offend when a jury of their peers punishes them. The program is open to juvenile first-time, misdemeanor offenders. This program allows them to emerge with a clean record, presuming all conditions of their sentence have been completed within the guidelines provided. The jury, which is comprised of teens, does not decide the guilt or innocence of the offender but assesses constructive sentencing for the offender who has pleaded guilty. Marion County Teen Court has a Felony offense program which is limited to Felony property crimes.