The Court Process

Step One: Incident Step Two: Referral Step Three: Case Development Step Four: Pre-Hearing Conference Step Five: Hearing Preparation Step Six: Hearing Step Seven: Post-Sentencing Conference Step Eight: Sentence Completion Step Nine: Parent Program

When the Police Departments in participating Alameda County cities are called to the scene of a crime involving a juvenile, they may choose to either make an arrest or do a “counsel and release” at the site. If they counsel and release the offender, they may choose to complete a police report and/or a 606 juvenile record. After a report is filed, it is reviewed by the Youth Services Division Administrative Sergeant. Referrals are also sent to us by the Alameda County Probation Department and the Oakland Unified School District. A parent/guardian also has the option of recommending a youth to our program.

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The Youth Services Division Administrative Sergeant can assign a juvenile's case to an Investigating Officer for information and follow-up, or (s)he can close it. After the Investigating Officer reviews the case, it may be referred to an alternative program such as Youth Court. In order to determine eligibility for the Youth Court program, the Investigating Officer runs a criminal records check to determine if the offender has any prior arrests, and whether the offense meets Youth Court criteria. Appropriate offenses for referral include but are not limited to: petty theft, vandalism, possession of alcohol and/or marijuana, assault & battery, trespassing, etc. If the youth is eligible, the Investigating Officer refers the case to Youth Court.

When a school site offense is referred to Youth Court, it is handled in the same manner as if a report has been made by the School Site Officer.  If it has been handled by school administration then it is considered a school referral. School Referrals are initially handled the same way as Law Enforcement Referrals, with the exception that if a participant does not complete their Youth Court sentence requirements they can be expelled from school.

If a referral is made by a parent/guardian, it is considered an "automatic referral". This type of referral is usually handled in collaboration with the school the youth is attending or has attended.  If a collaboration can be established, then it becomes a school referral.

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The Program Coordinators and Case Managers are responsible for the pre-hearing, adjudication, and case management processes; they regularly receive cases from Police Departments, Probation, School, and Parents. They then read through the reports to make certain said referrals are suitable for Youth Court. Once they are familiar with each case, the parent/guardian of each offender is contacted. Often the parent has not been made aware of the incident involving their child or the ensuing police report. Once the parent has been informed of the crime, the Program Coordinator or Case Manager will schedule a pre-hearing conference with the youth and his or her parents/guardians.

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Once a hearing has been scheduled, the Program Coordinator gives a copy of the police report--with the last names and contact information of the involved persons blacked out--to the Law & Justice Program where the cases are assigned to the prosecution and defense attorneys so they can prepare their arguments. The Law & Justice Program staff works with the attorneys to prepare and improve their opening statements, their closing arguments, and witness examination questions. It is also the responsibility of the Law & Justice Program to properly train the attorneys, clerks, bailiffs, and jurors. Attorney trainings are held on a regular basis throughout the school year in order to positively engage youth and so that a pool of trained attorneys are always available for hearings.

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Hearings take place twice a month, from 5:00 to 8:30pm, at the Wiley Emanuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland (661 Washington Street). Each hearing is presided over by a volunteer adult “judge” who facilitates the process. The hearing begins with the process of voir dire in which the Judge asks a series of questions to the jury in order to ensure that all jurors are unbiased and will make fair decisions regarding sentencing. Both the prosecution and defense attorneys then make opening statements, and the offender takes the stand to offer his/her account of the incident. Both the jury and the attorneys then ask witness examination questions regarding the incident, followed by closing statements from the prosecution and defense. Finally, the jury leaves the room to deliberate on the most appropriate, constructive sentence. There are three mandatory sentence components: Jury Duty, gender specific workshops, and Community Service. Discretionary sentencing components include: restitution, writing an essay and/or a letter of apology, attending a Healthy Risks and/or Healthy Boundaries class, Anger Management workshops, Substance Abuse Counseling, and/or additional family or individual counseling.

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After the hearing, the youth offender meets with his/her case manager to review the verdict form. Community service options are discussed. At this time, the Case Manager may also make referrals to local agencies for additional support such as counseling, summer jobs, tutoring, emergency food or housing, after-school care, etc. Referrals continue throughout the offender's participation in the program (and many times even after the youth has completed his/her sentence).

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The primary functions of the Case Managers in sentence completion are to create, monitor, enforce, and evaluate Youth Court sentencing components. These components are designed to be restorative in order to repair the harm caused by problem behavior and to rebuild relationships among offenders, offenders' families, victims, and the community. Below is an explanation of each sentence component and the process by which it is fulfilled.

Mandatory Sentence Components:

• Gender Specific Workshops: All youth offenders must attend gender specific/age specific workshops.                   
  
• Wise Heroes & Young Heroes - is designed to meet the unique needs of male offenders during the six two-hour workshops; offenders learn important skills to help them resolve conflicts in a positive, non-violent way.
• Wise Divas & Young Divas - is designed to meet the unique needs of female offenders. In order to address these needs, a partnership was formed to create a culturally sensitive forum in which female offenders are given the necessary tools to address their own social, emotional, and mental health issues. The program aims to reduce young women’s risky behaviors and subsequent chances of further negative involvement in the juvenile justice system.

• Juror Service: Every offender is required to serve jury duty at least twice (but no more than three times). This experience enables the offender to redefine his or her role in the juvenile justice process--seeing himself/herself as a positive change agent rather than a victim or enemy of the system. The offenders have an opportunity to see that their voice counts and that they can make a difference in other youths’ lives.

• Community Service: Youth Offenders may be assigned between 12 and 60 hours of community service.  The purpose of the community service component is to allow the offender to make amends for the damage done to the community and to become engaged in the community in a meaningful way. This experience is designed to be an opportunity for learning and confidence building--projects where youth offenders, as well as student and adult volunteers, work to make a positive contribution to the community.

Mandatory (According to Offense) Sentence Components:

• Healthy Risks is a workshop series required if stolen property or stealing was involved
• Healthy Boundaries and Positive Self Expression is a workshop series required for any offense committed with another youth; or for any youth under 15 years of age
• Anger/Conflict Management is required if a verbal or physical confrontation, or aggressive damage to property, was involved--a way to reduce both emotional feelings and the physiological arousal that anger causes.
• Drug and Alcohol Awareness is required if alcohol or illegal use/abuse of a substance was involved and which serves to discourage young people from experimenting with drugs and alcohol by building self-esteem and encouraging healthy life choices. 
• Essay The jury may also ask the offender to write an essay reflecting on their involvement in the incident and how they might handle a similar situation differently in the future.
• Letter of Apology Many times the jury will ask the youth to write a letter of apology to their parents/guardians, the victim, the victim’s family, the store owners, or other involved participants.
• Additional Counseling If the jury recommends additional counseling, the Case Manager works with the family to find appropriate, free counseling options. This can be either family or individual counseling.

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Mandatory Parent Workshop

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