Rochester teen court sees successes

Teen attorneys represent 16 to 19-year-old first time offenders after they've been arrested for misdemeanors, and 75 percent of those who go through the teen court system are never charged with another offense....

From: Your News Now

This past week, the Rochester Police Department released crime statistics from 2009. In those statistics, there was a juvenile in the Beechwood neighborhood who was arrested and charged with 26 burglaries.

It is those types of crimes that one group hopes to stop with a little help from their peers. Teen attorney Tatiana Williams has seen 20 to 30 cases since she started working with the Center for Youth’s Teen Court program.

“They still show you in some way they are thankful,” said Williams. “We take a bar exam; it’s a mock bar exam, and we’re trained by an actual attorney who goes to Harvard.”

She is one of a number of teen attorneys who represent 16 to 19-year-old first time offenders after they’ve been arrested for misdemeanor charges such as criminal mischief, trespassing, shoplifting, drug possession or assault.

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