March Teen Court 2016

3/17/2016

Case 1

The defendant jumped the gate at his high school to after buying marijuana from someone at the park. Do you think he was pressured into smoking by his friends who always wanted to smoke? The defendant is not allowed to associate with those friends who smoke marijuana during his probation. How will that affect his life and the choices he makes?

Case 2

In the second case, the defendant claim do have just gone up to a random person and asked if he sold marijuana. Do you feel like the defendant was lying about his answers and being immature? Why do you think the court gave him a few hours of community service? How many hours would you have given the defendant since he lied any times throughout the session?

17 Comments

Bella Pinedo

3/19/2016 11:29:00 am

1)I think the defendant may have felt pressured, but he makes his own choices. The defendant not being able to associate with his friends is a good thing since he can get himself back on track with his school work.
2) Yes, the defendant was totally being immature and childish. He was changing his story throughout the case, and deserved more hours. I think he got more hours because the jury probably wanted to give him less since he was an 8th grader. I would have given him the full 120 hours.

Andrea Chavez

4/4/2016 10:48:46 pm

Case 1: I believe that the defendant was in fact pressured by his friends to smoke. During his probation period, the defendant is not allowed to associate with his "friends" that smoke. I think that this will definitely affect his life and hopefully, change the way he sees life and eventually allow him to make better decisions for himself.

Case 2: I honestly believe that the defendant wasn't being completely honest about his answers. I also think that the court gave him a few hours of community service because of the way that his life was at the moment. Or maybe they didn't feel that many community hours were needed. I definitely would have given him more hours because of the fact that he lied various time throughout the session.

Alejandro Ortiz

5/3/2016 02:49:59 pm

1. I feel like he was peer pressured by his friends. Most decisions are not made because the individual themselves wanted to, but because their friends wanted to or they just wanted to look cool in front of their friends. Taking away association with those friends is great thing, The reason being that it gives the minor a new chance, a new chance for better decisions and a new chance to make new friends.

2. His claim of going up to a random person sounds like a lie. One does not simply walk up to a random stranger and ask if they sell marijuana, or if they would sell them marijuana. I think they gave the minor a few hours of community service because they feel sorry for him or they just felt he already had a hard time. I would have given him 90 hours depending on how many times he lied, and how he was acting, because attitude should play a big role since they are already being given a second chance at teen court.

Rocio Camacho

3/20/2016 07:42:51 pm

1. I do think he was pressured even though he said he wasn't, and that it was his own choice. Since he can't be with the friends that smoke marijuana, he might wind up hanging out with same friends after the probation and maybe smoking again.

2. I felt that he did lie in some questions, but I also felt that he tried to look good in front of everyone. I think the jury gave him a few hours because he did confess of buying the marijuana at the park, he didn't cover it up. I would gave him 20 hours more.

Sonya Ochoa

3/25/2016 09:08:56 am

Case 1: I think that the defendant may not have been directly pressured into smoking but he did it anyway to try to fit in. Not being able to associate with them will benefit him in the long run because he will not be influenced by the wrong crowd anymore.

Case 2: I feel like if the defendant was lying and being immature to try and make himself look better. I think the court gave him a few hours of community service due to the fact that he was young and has plenty of time to correct his behavior. I would've given him 70-80 hours of community service since he lied multiple times throughout the session.

Derick Villafuerte

3/25/2016 12:08:15 pm

1. I feel that the defendant was peer pressured by his friends because since he had no friends he felt that he needed to associate with that crowd fearing that if he doesn't then he will lose his friends. Probation will help make better choices because he will find friends who don't do drugs and his life will have a better outcome.
2. I feel that the story of him going to a random guy and asking if he sells pot is a lie. The fact that the jury and audience caught him lying multiple times should change his charges into a felony for lying in the court of law.

Jessica Zapien

4/5/2016 01:35:50 am

1. The defendant may have felt rather pressured indirectly due to his desire to fit in and find friends he could rely on emotionally. Not associating with those friends who smoke would likely do him some good because he might find some new form of emotional support or learn to be less dependent on those friends.
22. I think the defendant was lying or at least being rather immature about the whole thing. Perhaps he shouldve had 10-20 more hours of community service for all the inconsistencies. His age was likely taken into account when he was given community service as he is rather young.

Jackie Rivera

4/5/2016 12:15:50 pm

1) I do not think he was directly pressured but he did want to fit in with his friends that's why he made that choice. Him not being able to associate with his friends will benefit him to be on the right track

2) yes the defendant was immature because he changed his story's up and he couldn't stick to one story and he got little hours because he was young . I believe he should get 120 hours so he can learn his lesson so he won't go back to his old ways.

Adrian Flores

4/5/2016 12:38:29 pm

1) I believe the defendant was unintenionally peer pressured to smoke since all of his friends were doing it. Not associating with these friends would allow him to adapt to a new lifestyle and turn his attitude around.
2) The defendant seemed to be constantly lying to the jury. He also seemed to be immature or as if he didn't have remorse for what he had done. The community service should have been higher because of the inconsistency of his story.

Leslie Plaza

4/5/2016 10:23:18 pm

1. I think the defendant's friends play a huge role in his path to smoking. Although he denies it, the defendant doesn't realize that he's being pressured, instead he sees it as "bonding". Not associating with his friends will help the defendant realize his wrongdoing and hopefully lead him to a better path.

2. I definitely believe the defendant was lying throughout the trial, but I wouldn't quite say he was being immature (though he was). I'd think he was more careless because it seemed like he knew how to behave, just that he didn't care, or was just making himself look cool and calm. I believe the defendant should've gotten way more hours, possibly 90? If he lied and we caught most of them (if not all), then why shouldn't we give him a thorough verdict?

Amalia Sanchez

4/13/2016 12:44:08 pm

1) The defendant may have not been pressured into smoking since he made his own choices but chose to smoke in the end. Not being able to associate with his friends will serve a good purpose in his recovery.

2) For the audience and the jury to notice his lies makes it seem lie he was also lying about randomly going up to the person. It should had changed his charges and the community service hours that I would have assigned would be a maximum if 80-90 hours.

Ernesto Garcia

4/15/2016 08:45:25 am

1. I do think the defendant was pressured into smoking but at the same time decided to do it himself because it was his choice to leave school which only he could have prevented. Not being allowed to associate with those friends will benefit him greatly mainly because he won't be around their influence and he will have time to think over the kind of friends he has.

2. The defendant seemed to have been lying throughout the session and could have been doing so just so that he could look better in front of the jury. Due to the fact that he was young, I do feel like the defendant was being immature and also due to his age, the jury went easy on the amount of community service hours given to him.

Randy Valenzuela

4/29/2016 07:53:12 am

Case !: I feel that the defendant was being pressured by his friends due to the statement he made, stating he didn't reallyarijuana have any friends at the start, I believe he felt the need to smoke to be part of the crowd.
Case 2: I felt that the story about going to a random person to purchase the marijuana was a lie, and the fact that the jury and audience found him lying multiple times, In my opinion i would've at least given him 70-80 hours of community service.

Karen Lopez

5/19/2016 08:28:12 am

1. I don't think that he was necessarily pressured, because he did claim that it was his choice, and he understood that fact. Although he said it was his choice, I do believe there was some sort of influence from his "friends" when he didn't attend school to buy the drugs. I personally believe his probation will definitely put him at a better place, he will come to a realization that he doesn't need drugs in his life, and is better off without those "friends".
2. The defendant was clearly not taking the situation seriously. No one approaches a stranger and asks if they sell drugs, he was not being truthful. Although he was a little younger, I would have given him 70 hrs of community service because of his dishonesty.

Amber Castillo

5/19/2016 12:57:00 pm

Case 1: I do believe that he was being pressured but then again I think at certain point he began to want to do it regardless of his statements because for someone to go out of their way and numb the fence and risk getting in trouble.
Case 2: I think the defendant was lying and he should've received 120 hours because he was given a chance to say his side of the story and he continued to lie.

Rafael Gonzalez

5/19/2016 01:01:14 pm

Case 1 : I believe that the defendant was peer pressured into doing drugs but he had the choice to not do it as well because it was his choice to smoke. Not being around these "friends" will allow him to meet new people and get a better lifestyle.

Case 2: The defendant did seem to be lying throught the whole session and he was also immature. The jury probably gave him a low amount of community hours because of his age, but i believe he deserved more.

Amy Lopez

3/23/2017 09:31:45 pm

1. I think that the defendant was peer pressured into doing drugs with his friend but him being away from his "friends" during this time will make him meet better people.

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