Manatee County Teen Court celebrates 30 years

The past six months of virtually volunteering for Manatee County Teen Court and Teen Court Too has been an eye-opening experience for Kadyn Davis, an eighth grader at Braden River Middle School.

As a volunteer, Davis has had the opportunity to hear real-life court cases of youths who are first-time offenders going through Teen Court, a diversionary program designed to stop youthful delinquent behavior before a pattern is established. 

“It helps you learn right from wrong and how something that’s small can turn into something big with just a few actions,” Davis said. 

The Teen Court program began 30 years ago in Manatee County and has kept more than 18,000 cases out of the juvenile court system. 

Defendants’ cases are heard by a jury of their peers, who are the youth volunteers responsible for determining the fate of the defendant. 

“I believe the delinquent is more concerned as far as being judged by a jury of their peers because (their peers) know when they’re not being honest and when they’re being sincere,” said Yantee Hines, the supervisor of the Teen Court program. 

Youth volunteers, like Davis, are given roles such as juror, attorneys, clerk and bailiffs. 

“(The roles) gives them more understanding of how the court system works because most of the time they only see it from the outside looking in,” Hines said. “They’re able to listen to the case, hear what happened and they’re able to be more involved in the decisions that occur in that hearing.”

Davis said it’s been interesting hearing the different cases that have come before him such as a shoplifting case and getting a “behind the scenes” look at how a court proceeding would occur. 

“I’m part of helping kids so they don’t have to go through the system and get in more trouble than they have to,” Davis said. “It feels like I’ve helped them in the long run since it’s not put on their record.”

Hines said the program makes a tremendous impact on the delinquents because charges won’t appear on their records if they complete the program.

“We have youth who want to attend college and want to receive great jobs,” Hines said. “They do not want these bad choices that were made early in their lives to hold them back in their future.”

Hines said Teen Court has about 60 youth volunteers annually but always is looking for more students who are interested in participating. 

“This has a huge impact on our community as far as volunteers and those that are involved in the Teen Court program,” Hines said. “It shows leadership. It shows commitment. It shows how we can help our youth in this community.”