Once the Justice of the Peace Judge or Municipal Court handling your case assigns you to Teen Court, the Teen Court office will set your court date and mail your notice. You will be given 90 days to complete your sentence. You are allowed to finish your sentence early. You must turn in all paperwork showing completion. After completion Teen Court reports back to the Judge or Municipal Court whether or not the program was successfully completed.
Overview
Teen Court is a voluntary program for people who have plead guilty or no contest to a crime, and who have been referred by a Judge or other authority to Teen Court for the handling of the case.
The Teen Court process includes four major steps:
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Referral
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Hearing & Sentence
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Completion of Sentence
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Final Report
Hearing & Sentence
Once the case is referred to Teen Court, a hearing will be set and a notice mailed to you for the case to be heard (Court starts at 6 p.m.). The teen court process is one in which you will appear before teens at a hearing who will examine the facts of the case then issue a sentence. The sentence range will be determined by the referring entity. The following forms must be turned in at the Teen Court (blank copies will be provided in your notice and at the hearing, but completed forms will expedite the hearing of the case):
Defendants must complete all of the following three forms:
Completion of Sentence
Once the sentence is decided, you will be given a packet at the hearing with all the instructions needed and the defendant may begin completing the elements of the sentence. One requirement, along with community service issued, will be that the defendant must return at least once to serve as a Teen Court juror. Information on how to sign up for jury duty will be in the packet. Defendants are responsible for tracking their community service and turning in proof of completion of all sentence requirements by the due date.
Final Report
When the completion paperwork is turned in, the Teen Court office will review the file and determine if the defendant successfully completed the program. A report will be sent to the referring entity (JP Court or Municipal Court) that will formally dismiss the case and mail you a dismissal letter. If you do not turn in your completion paperwork, you will be required to appear before the JP Judge or Municipal Court that referred you to pay a larger fine and complete any other requirements issued by them.
Expunction
Please refer to this
Collin County Juvenile Records brochure on how to have an offense expunged from the defendant's record.