H. B. 4371


(By Delegates Fleischauer, Marshall, Houston,
Rowe, Linch, C. White and Mahan)
[Introduced February 2, 2000; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]



A BILL to amend and reenact section thirteen-d, article five, chapter forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the teen court program; deleting continuing legal education credit for participation in the program; and removing the provision that declares these programs to be pilot projects.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirteen-d, article five, chapter forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS.

 §49-5-13d. Teen court program.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, any juvenile who is alleged to have committed a status offense or an act of delinquency which would be a misdemeanor if committed by an adult, and who is otherwise subject to the provisions of this article may be given the option of proceeding in a teen court program as an alternative to the filing of a formal petition under section seven of this article or proceeding to a disposition as provided by section eleven-a or thirteen of this article, as the case may be. The decision to enter the teen court program as an alternative procedure shall be made by the circuit court, juvenile probation officer, the department and parent, guardian or custodian of the juvenile: Provided, That before the option is extended, the circuit court first finds that the offender is a suitable candidate for the program. Any juvenile who does not successfully cooperate in and complete the teen court program and any disposition imposed therein shall be returned to the circuit court for further disposition as provided by section eleven-a or thirteen of this article, as the case may be.
(b) The teen court program shall be administered by the governor's committee on crime, delinquency and correction.
(c) The following provisions apply to all teen court programs:
(1) The judge for each teen court proceeding shall be an acting or retired circuit court judge or an active member of the West Virginia state bar, who serves on a voluntary basis. Bar members shall be offered continuing legal education credit for this service.
(2) Any juvenile who selects the teen court program as an alternative disposition shall agree to serve thereafter on at least two occasions as a teen court juror.
(3) Volunteer students from grades seven through twelve of the schools within the county shall be selected to serve as defense attorney, prosecuting attorney, court clerk, and bailiff and jurors for each proceeding.
(4) Disposition in a teen court proceeding shall consist of requiring the juvenile to perform sixteen to forty hours of community service, the duration and type of which shall be determined by the teen court jury from a standard list of available community service programs provided by the county juvenile probation system and a standard list of alternative consequences which are consistent with the purposes of this article. The performance of the juvenile shall be monitored by the county juvenile probation system. The juvenile shall also perform at least two sessions of teen court jury service, and, if considered appropriate by the judge, participate in an education program. Nothing in this section may be construed so as to deny availability of the services provided under section eleven-a of this article to juveniles who are otherwise eligible therefor.
(d) The rules for administration, procedure and admission of evidence shall be determined by the chief circuit judge, but in no case may the court require a juvenile to admit the allegation against him or her as a prerequisite to participation in the teen court program. A copy of these rules shall be provided to every teen court participant.
(e) Teen court programs operated pursuant to this section are pilot projects to be utilized from the effective date of this section until the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, in the circuit courts in three of the counties of this state. The supreme court of appeals is to determine the counties in which the pilot projects will be utilized based upon its determination of those counties which have recently experienced the most significant increases in the commission of criminal and status offenses by juveniles.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make changes in the teen court program. It deletes continuing legal education credit for participation in the program and removes the provision that declares these programs to be pilot projects.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.