Teens try peers in alternative court
BY MARGARET BEHM
Court is in session, and it
looks like a normal trial - except
most of the attorneys and jury
members can’t legally vote or
drive.
For juvenile offenders in
Lincoln, Lancaster County Teen
Court is an alternative to being
tried by juvenile court.
Cedars Youth Services, 770 N.
Cotner Blvd., holds the program
as a part of its juvenile diversion
program.
Whether students can partic
ipate in teen court depends on
the severity of their crimes, said
Bridget Birkel, a teen-court coor
dinator employed by Cedars
fouth Services.
The defendants and attorney
and jury volunteers are 13 to 18
pears old.
Examples of cases that com
monly are tried include shoplift
ing, minor in possession of alco
hol and trespassing.
Defendants must voluntarily
participate in the teen court pro
gram. They also have to admit
they’re guilty and want to take
responsibility for their crimes,
Birkel said.
Volunteer teen-agers serve as
the attorneys and jury members
during trial. The judges are attor
neys who volunteer their time.
The jury members decide the
sentences, which can include
performing community-service
hours, writing papers or touring a
correctional facility.
The defendants have to serve
on the teen-court jury at least
once, so they can see what a trial
is like from a jury member’s per
spective, Birkel said.
"I think legal-wise they learn
a lot about the whole system,”
she said. “And they get to see the
court process without having to
be the one on trial.”
Defendants have up to three
months to complete their sen
tences. If defendants complete
the sentences, the charges are
erased from their criminal
records.
Katie McAdams, a junior at
Pius X Central High School, 6000
A St., has volunteered for teen
court for about a year. She said
she enjoys it and plans to become
a lawyer.
"You learn a lot of things,”
7 think that teen
court can be a very
appropriate
mechanism for
helping youth
understand the
ramifications of their
actions. ”
John McQuinn
chief city prosecutor
McAdams said. “You get a sense
that you’re helping people. It’s a
good experience, especially if
you’re going into law.”
Being a volunteer reminds
her to stay on the right side of the
law, McAdams said.
“It makes you think about
what you’re doing before you do
it,” she said.
McAdams said she can usual
ly relate to the stories of the
defendants after she hears them.
“You see a lot of different situ
ations,” she said. “Sometimes at
first when you read the police
report, you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh!
How could they do that?’ But then
you hear their story and about
their home life, and it puts a bet
ter perspective on things.”
The court is a good learning
experience for juvenile offenders,
said John McQuinn, chief city
prosecutor for Lancaster County
Juvenile Court.
"I think teen court can be a
very appropriate mechanism for
helping youth understand the
ramifications of their actions,”
McQuinn said.
There is a $75 fee to partici
pate in teen court. The trials are
on Monday evenings from 5 to 7
p.m. Six cases are tried each
night.
Teen court is a nationwide
program. 1\vo other teen courts
are in Omaha and Papillion.
Seventy-nine percent of par
ticipants who graduate from the
program don’t re-offend. Birkel
said she thinks this is because it’s
teensputting other teens on trial.
“It’s because they’re getting
the sentence from their peers,”
she said. “It means a lot more
coming from someone their age.”
Delivery man fights off
robbery attempt
A would-be robber was
decked by the pizza delivery man
he attempted to rob early Monday
morning.
About 1:15 a.m., the suspect
grabbed the Ramo’s Pizza delivery
man around the neck from
behind as he left an apartment
building. The building was in the
1400 block of South 14th Street,
Lincoln Police Ofc. Katherine
Finnellsaid.
The delivery man forced the
suspect’s arm off his neck and
punched the robber, who fell to
the ground
Then the delivery man
returned to Ramo’s Pizza & More,
3859 South St., where he called
police.
The suspect is described as a
Hispanic man, 25- to 35-years
old, 5-foot 8-inches tall, weighing
about 190 pounds,. He wore black
jeans and a black shirt
Two men arrested
in alleged assault after game
A fight broke out after the
Huskers’ 42-13 victory over Iowa
because some fans were criticiz
ing NU’s play.
The UNL Police Department
arrested two men for misde
meanor assault after they
attacked other fans at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Assistant Chief Mylo
Bushing said.
An officer standing in the
intersection of Stadium and U
streets saw the fight start on the
west side of Memorial Stadium.
Cody Cummins Sr., 21, from
Waterloo, and Jeffrey Pospichal,
22, from Omaha, were arrested.
Neither of the men is a University
of Nebraska-Iincoln student.
Four people taken to detox
during Husker game
During Saturday’s
Cornhusker football game, four
fans were taken to detox to sober
up, though none was charged
with crimes.
At 2:15 p.m., Mark Waldecker,
37, of Omaha, was approached
near Gate 3, and police deter
mined that he was drunk. At
detox, Waldecker had a .23 blood
alcohol content, Bushing said.
An hour later, another man
was taken into protective custody
at the same gate. Thomas Rush,
35, of Lincoln, refused the
Breathalyzer test at detox.
Also at 3:20 p.m., UNL sopho
more Brent Ganey, 19, was found
drunk in the stands. Ganey had a
.195 blood alcohol content.
Close to 4 p.m. a 30-year-old
woman was reportedly passed out
in a stadium bathroom. Police
were unable to find the woman’s
sister at the game, so Michelle
Kemke-Eppler, of Omaha, was
taken to detox where she was
found to have a. 143 blood alcohol
content
Boy stabs mom's boyfriend
during argument
A 14-year-old boy used a knife
to come to his mother’s aid as she
fought with her boyfriend early
Monday morning.
At 1:30 a.m., a 30-year-old
woman was arguing with her
boyfriend, Nicky Delgado, 35, at a
house on the 700 block of New
Hampshire Street when the fight
started to become physical,
Finnell said.
The woman called to her son
to help. He responded by stab
bing Delgado at least four times in
the head and chest, Finnell said.
All of the knife wounds were
superficial, and Delgado, 3827
Washington St., was treated and
released at BryanLGH Medical
Center West, 2300 S. 16th St
No one was arrested at the
time of the incident. The county
attorney will review the police
reports and may file charges this
week.
Man cited tor allegedly
having marijuana in car
Early Sunday morning a car
load of people allegedly smoking
marijuana was spotted in a uni
versity parking lot. One man was
later cited.
A community service officer
smelled marijuana smoke while
checking the 17th and R streets
parking lot at 2:15 a.m. and called
a University Police officer,
Bushing said.
The officer arrived as the car
was leaving the lot. Police fol
lowed the car to Q Street where the
officer stopped it between 17th
and 18th streets.
The officer smelled marijuana
smoke as he approached the car
and then asked the driver who
had the drug.
The back-seat passenger,
Adrian Ostronic, 20, had a bag of
suspected marijuana tucked in
his right shoe and a resin-coated
pipe sitting on the floor in front of
him.
Ostronic, a Ralston man who
is not a UNL student, was ticketed
for possession of less than an
ounce of marijuana and posses
sion of drug paraphernalia.
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