Students are gaining real-world legal and justice system experience through a Williamson County teen program.

It sounds like a reality show scenario, a courtroom filled with teenagers conducting court – teens in the jury box, at the counsel tables and even a teen bailiff. But it’s real and it’s happening in Williamson County. For the first time, the Williamson County YMCA Teen Court program is giving St. Stephen’s students a chance to serve in a real-life courtroom and take on various roles in court proceedings. From attorneys to bailiffs to jurors, clerks and judges, students take on each role in actual juvenile misdemeanor sentencing trials. 

The invitation to participate came from the teen court program coordinator who reached out to History Department Chair Shelley Sallee toward the end of last school year. Students ages 13 to 17 were invited from several local public school districts and other private and homeschool programs. During a student orientation, participants are given an extensive training manual and throughout the process, they are guided and taught by seasoned court professionals.

“I'm really sold on the program because it gives teenagers the opportunity to learn how courts work and to get real feedback from lawyers and learn about the decorum of courts,” said Sallee. 

Sallee says about 15 St. Stephen’s students have participated or expressed interest, and that number continues to grow each month. Athena Toba-Keith ’29 is one of five Upper School Spartans who volunteered first and attended the orientation in August.

“I am involved to get a better understanding of the United States court system because I want to do a career related to law,” said Toba-Keith. “I've enjoyed the court nights so far because the cases are interesting and I can see how the different roles work.”

Once students have studied the teen court manual and have an understanding of various jobs throughout the court, they are required to audition for suitable roles. If they don’t land one, they still have the option to attend teen court two nights a month, observing existing teen cases in Williamson County Justice and Municipal Courts. Individual cases are defended, prosecuted and the sentence is decided, all by teen attorneys and jurors.

Once the sentence is read, the defendants in these cases are also required to serve on teen court giving them a chance to experience it from both sides. Once defendants successfully complete the program, their juvenile record is cleared.

“I think the most valuable part of the program is the ability to hear the stories of and interact with those who appear before the court as defendants,” said Josh Goldenberg ’27. 

“Giving young people the opportunity to grapple with the circumstances and reasons which lead people to commit crimes is important for creating a generation which is more empathetic and is better equipped to find solutions to problems related to criminal justice like the school-to-prison pipeline.”

Teens not only get the opportunity to practice law in the courtroom but also learn valuable public speaking and leadership skills.

“I also think of this as a great civics thing,” said Sallee. “They hear judges speak and police officers — it's really exposing them to people who help our society work and learn what public servants do.”

More about the Williamson County YMCA Teen Court Program

Teen Court is a partnership between Judge Angela Williams, Justice of the Peace, Pct. 2 and the YMCA of Greater Williamson County. The Court is also supported by many adult volunteers, such as lawyers, judges, educators, parents and law enforcement personnel.

Teen Court is a voluntary program holding teenage defendants, who meet the criteria below, accountable for their offenses by allowing them to perform community service, serve Teen Court jury duty, and to attend educational programs in lieu of paying fines for Class C misdemeanors. Studies have shown that recidivism is less likely to occur in teenagers who participate in Teen Court.

During the two previous academic school years, the program has had 78 student participants from 10 different Central Texas cities, representing more than four local public school districts and private and homeschool programs.