HomeMy WebLinkAboutJunior Judges ProgramBrazos County
assistant district
attorney Shane
Phelps talks to
students at
Cypress Grove
Intermediate
School in College
Station about the
importance of
making good
decisions about
drug and alcohol
use. Phelps was
at the school
with other local
lawyers as part of
the Junior Judge
program.
Eagle photo
Butch Ireland
Lawyers talk to students
about drugs, consequences
By LAURA HENSI.EY faced with choices, and whatever
Eagle Sta.' Writer choices you make could define the rest
' of your life."
Assistant district attorney Shane Most of the children in Junior
Phelps has helped put dozens of juve- Judges had plenty of questions for the
niles behind bars for crimes they com- attorneys. "Is law school boring?" one
mitted as a result of poor choices - asked.
whether it was choosing to pick up a Another was curious about how kids
gun or saying yes to an offer of pot. his age get ahold of drugs.
"It's not very fun to put kids in jail," "Well, I don't know, but it does hap-
he said. "I hate it." pen," Phelps responded. "I'm glad you
Phelps and 20 other local lawyers don't know how."
participated Friday in the Junior Hannah Sturtevant, 11, said she
Judges program, which let them speak would like to be a lawyer. She said Fri-
to groups of fifth- and sixth-graders in day's program not only invigorated her
College Station in an effort to keep interest in law but also reinforced les-
children out of the criminal justice sys- sons she has already learned about say-
tem. ing no to drugs and alcohol.
"It's nice that I get to talk to you all," "It was a lot of fun, and we learned a
Phelps said to an audience of curious lot," she said.
fifth-graders at Cypress Grove Int~rme-
diate School. "Every one of you will be
The Junior Judges program
7 is designed to help children .
:develop decision-making
skills and teach them about
the legal consequences of
making poor decisions. Top-
ics include cheating, property
destruction, teasing, bully-
ing, stealing, weapons, gangs,
drugs and alcohol.
The program also stresses
to children that beginning at
~ age 10 they can be sentenced
in the juvenile justice system
for crimes they commit.
"If by doing this I don't see
even one of those children in
the courtroom, then it makes
bodeaux, a local defense
attorney who handles many
drug- and alcohol-related
cases. He spoke to children at
Oakwood Intermediate
School on Friday.
The curriculum for the
Junior Judges program was
developed by the Texas
Young Lawyers Association.
The Brazos County Bar Asso-
ciation has presented the
program free to local schools
for five years.
"This is a way to make a
difference," said Hubbard
Kennady, president of the
Brazos County Bar Associa-
tion. "This is a way to reach
a kid before they get into the
juvenile detention system."
According to FBI arrest
statistics, more than 1,200
Brazos County each ye.
accounting for about 23 p~
cent of all arrests. Natic
wide, more than 2 milli
people under 18 are arrest
each year, accounting i
about 16 percent of
arrests.
"If I can reach just one k
then this is all worth i
Phelps said after- the class.