For 20 years, Martin County Teen Court has maintained a jury of peers for youthful first offenders. In honor of the milestone, the program held an open house Friday at a logical site, the second floor courtroom in the courthouse.

“Since 1998, we’ve had 566 teenagers go through this program,” said Shelly Larsen, coordinator of Youth Intervention and Prevention Programs, which directs Teen Court. “It’s definitely a legacy now. It’s something that we will carry on.”

Martin County Teen Court became a reality 20 years ago after Judge Robert Walker; Linda Sandberg, court administrator; and Julie Grunewald, career corrections agent, developed the idea and received a grant to begin the program.

“That grant funding sustains our program today,” Larsen said. “We’ve seen recidivism go down. With less people re-offending, it saves Martin County money because we don’t have so many teens going through the court system.”

Teen Court handles cases of youth from ages 10-18 for minor offenses and petty misdemeanors, such as shoplifting, minor consumption or, in recent years, e-cigarette violations. It must be their first offense, and they must admit their guilt.

“The purpose of Teen Court is to hold juvenile offenders accountable,” Larsen said. “We want to teach them about the court system and educate them. We also want to respect the rights of the victim.”

Each offense goes through a screening process with the county attorney, probation department and Larsen. Then it becomes the responsibility of teen jurors.

“Our teen jurors are trained. They ask questions of the offenders and their parents,” Larsen said. “Then they deliberate and decide the consequences, which might be an educational program, community service work or writing an essay. Sometimes there’s restitution or an apology to the victim.”

Students in grades 7-12 can become teen jurors. They must fill out an application and, if accepted, go through training and sign a confidentiality agreement. Jurors meet monthly, and the case load varies.

“Sometimes we could have six cases on the docket. This month, we have one,” Larsen said.

When there are no cases for the jury, a member of the court services staff will speak to the jurors so they can learn more about the judicial process.

“Our jurors take their responsibility very seriously. They take confidentiality very seriously. They are very professional when they’re here,” Larsen said. “There are consequences to offenses. That’s what our jurors decide, and they do a very good job.”

Four Fairmont High School students currently serving as teen jurors were among those attending the open house.

Senior Eric Head has been involved in Teen Court since seventh grade, his first year of eligibility.

“I was really interested, and it’s a way to help out and learn about the judicial system,” Head said.

He initially anticipated that Teen Court would mirror the gavels and robes of television courtrooms, but that was not the case.

“I was expecting it to be a lot scarier than it was, but everybody’s so friendly so it’s not scary at all,” he said.

Ethan Grunewald grew up hearing about Teen Court from his mother, Julie, one of the program’s founders, who said her son made his own decision to get involved. Now a sophomore, he has been a Teen Court juror since eighth grade.

“There were still some surprises. It’s not as serious as I expected. I mean, it’s serious, but not that serious,” he said.

Sophomore Weston Loughmiller is one of the newest jurors, having just started last year.

“Ethan had told me about it,” he said. “I thought it would be a lot more formal than it is.”

“One of the good things about Teen Court is that we try to have a conversation with them (offenders),” Head said.

“Not focus just on the offense, but find out how they’re doing in school,” Loughmiller added.

Junior Bergen Senf, a teen juror since seventh grade, said Teen Court has given her the opportunity to learn more about legal professions before she starts college.

“It’s a really good way to be in an actual courtroom and understand the setting,” she said. “I really enjoy it. It’s been a good experience.”

She said there can be awkward moments when an offender and juror pass each other at school, but neither party talks about it, due to the confidentiality agreement jurors sign. There also are high points in the program, like when the parent of an offender saw her in church, shook her hand and thanked her for her involvement.

Little has changed with Martin County Teen Court over the past two decades.

“The foundation stayed the same, and we’ve had a wonderful turnover of our volunteer jurors,” Julie Grunewald said. “Essentially our teen court is the same as it was 20 years ago, as far as the protocol and the format.”

“We’re the only Teen Court in Minnesota that’s been going on for this long,” Senf said proudly.

Students interested in becoming Teen Court jurors should email Shelly.Larsen@co.martin.mn.us or call her at (507) 238-3215.