The defendant stands accused of criminal mischief in the fourth degree. Having pleaded guilty, she waits for her sentencing hearing to begin. All rise, the Court Clerk says. The Chief Justice and her two colleagues file in and take the bench.
Court is in session.
Youth Court, that is. The defendant is nine and has admitted to spray painting several residential properties with purple spray paint. The judges hand out a 15-hour community service sentence along with an order to pay restitution and write letters of apology. And no one in the court room is over 18. Entering its second year, the Oswego County Youth Court held a mock hearing last night to show the public what happens in the closed hearings they hold.