Warren High Students Learn Criminal Court System

Warren County High School students sat in on a criminal court trial to better understand the roles of attorneys and judges as well as possible career paths.

Warren County General Sessions Judge Ryan Moore said students shadowed him and interacted with attorneys before watching the trial from the gallery. He said this experience is invaluable for teenage students interested in becoming part of the judicial system.

“There’s no substitute for on-the-job training and seeing this firsthand,” Moore said. “We can read about what a lawyer does, what a police officer does, but until you’re, you know, in the actual environment, you really don’t know. Even being in law school, you know, law school doesn’t teach you how to be a lawyer. It’s being in the courtroom on a daily basis.”

He said the students are members of Warren County’s Teen Court Program. Moore said this is the first time students have been able to sit in on a real criminal court docket and trial. He said Juvenile Court Director Barry Dishman and Youth Services Officer Tara Mullins have helped revitalize the program with events like this one.

He said these students have participated in trials where they adjudicated peers charged with minor offenses. Now, those students have seen what a full-scale criminal trial looks like.

“It can really help them decide, ‘Hey, this is for me,’ or ‘No, this is not what I want to do,'” Moore said. “Better to have it on the front end than the back end. So, we’re just thrilled for the expansion of our Teen Court Program as an extension of Juvenile Court.”

Moore said studies have shown that juveniles tried by their peers are less likely to become repeat offenders. He said he hopes to see Teen Court reach the rest of the schools in Warren County, and opportunities like this make that proposition more likely.

“We would like to expand that to our private schools, Covenant Academy, Boyd Christian School, and even our middle school, Warren County Middle School,” Moore said. “We would like Teen Court members to be represented from middle school up.”