Juvenile Juries

Peer pressure at work

On the theory that it takes a teen-ager to know a teenager, juvenile juries in Denver are deciding the sentences given to some first-time offenders at the junior and senior high school level. The student jurors, volunteers all, pass sentence only on young people who have admitted guilt and signed contracts with the district attorney's office agreeing to abide by whatever penalty their peers impose. The juries handle such crimes as assault, possession of dangerous weapons or marijuana--all but the most serious. Typical sentences include unpaid community service, obeying tight curfews, avoiding the city's high-crime Capitol Hill area, attending school, getting a job or making full restitution in cases of theft or vandalism.

Given the choice, virtually all delinquents opt for sentencing by the youthful juries. "It's a lot better than going before a judge," says a 16-year-old who stole a car at knife point and was required to accept counseling and strict curfew rules for a year. "It was good to talk to someone who understands," he says of his jury.

The volunteer juries have turned out to be sensitive and imaginative. They have handed out some less-than-draconian but effective decrees: ordering a 17-year-old to join an athletic team; rebuking a father for belittling his son and "being part of the problem"; instructing a youth to write a letter of apology to a policeman.

Says Zoralee Steinberg, who heads Denver County's "diversion" (i.e., from the criminal justice system) program for young offenders: "The insight these kids have is amazing."

Denver County District Attorney Dale Tooley, who with Steinberg presented the jury program to the students last spring, believes one reason for its success is that the kids get a hearing within days after their arrest, instead of brooding for two or three months while awaiting conventional trial. More important perhaps is the program's philosophy that young people are responsible for their actions, coupled with close followup: the district attorney's office remembers delinquents on holidays and birthdays--even after they have left the program--and makes sure that they observe whatever curfew is set. So far, only one of the 55 offenders sentenced by juvenile juries has been charged with another crime.

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