The base sentence calls for each defendant to serve community service hours, and to serve on a jury for another teen offender. Additional sanctions range from curfews or house arrest to letters of apology or written essays. Juries are composed of volunteer teenagers. Teen volunteers also assume the roles of defense and prosecuting attorneys, bailiffs, and court clerks. The judges are volunteer attorneys who must be members of the Hernando County Bar Association.
Strict confidentiality is essential among all participants.
If the sentence is not satisfactorily completed, however, the case will be referred to the state attorney's office, and generally a formal juvenile court action will continue through the judicial system. Karen Nicolai, Clerk of the Court for Hernando County, and her staff have done an excellent job in establishing this program and keeping it active and effective as an alternative court for these young people. She and her staff are to be applauded for their efforts to keep first-time offenders out of the juvenile justice system and to give them an opportunity to mend their ways. Citizens who are interested in this program and wish to see it in action are invited to attend any Teen Court session. Teen Court is conducted every Monday at 6 p.m. in Courtroom D, on the first floor of the Hernando County Courthouse.