AUBURN – When Vanessa Ouelette joined the Lewiston-Auburn Youth Court as a high school freshman 2 years ago, she figured it would be a good extracurricular activity, something to beef up her college resume.

She found instead a dramatic way to make a real difference.

“When your own peers are telling you what you’re doing is wrong, it’s something to think about, ” said Ouelette, now 16,

Since 2002, Ouelette and other Edward Little High School students have served as judge, defense and prosecution for area kids and teens arrested for minor offenses. The plan: Give students a real-life civics lesson and give young offenders a chance to skip the big, bad world of real court.

Thirty-nine young criminals have gone to Youth Court. Most were sentenced to community service. Many were ordered to apologize to the victim.

All were forced to deal with the embarrassment of being judged – and often admonished – by their peers.

Now, as the program starts its third year, participants say the unique justice system seems to be working, even if it is having some trouble getting Lewiston to get involved.

In Auburn, 30 percent of teenage lawbreakers commit another crime after going through the traditional court system.

According to a new report, fewer than 8 percent of the Youth Court’s criminals do.

“It’s an awesome program,” Ouelette said. “It’s been more than I thought it would be.”

Criminal acts

The plan for a Maine youth court began five years ago after Auburn businessman Richard Kendall read about the success of youth courts across the country and pushed for one in Lewiston-Auburn.

In May 2002, with help from the Auburn Police Department, Judge Paul Cote, several teenagers and community members, the Lewiston-Auburn Youth Court began to hear cases. It was a first for Maine.

Eleven- to 19-year-olds who plead guilty to a minor charge can go to the Youth Court for sentencing. Unlike traditional juvenile court, Youth Court crimes stay off permanent records.

Two to four young people get referred to Youth Court every month. They are typically first-time offenders.

Between May 2002 and May 2003, most went to court for shoplifting, according to a report released this week by Kendall. Others faced charges of assault, disorderly conduct or drug possession.

Like a traditional juvenile court, Youth Court judges can force offenders to complete community service, write a letter of apology, draft an essay on the effects of crime on the community or pay restitution. But in Youth Court, there’s something more.

“There’s an element of shame and embarrassment coming before their peers,” said Paul Cote, a District Court judge and Youth Court adviser. “And if you give an excuse, it may not go over as well as it would have with an adult.”

Growing

According to Kendall’s report, the Youth Court seems to be working. Only three of the 39 young offenders have committed another crime within 20 months of their appearance in court.

That low rate isn’t a huge surprise since Youth Court offenders have committed less severe crimes and are less likely to re-offend in the first place, Kendall said. But the figure is dramatically lower than the rate seen by Auburn’s traditional juvenile court system. It is also right on par with averages seen by the 930 other Youth Court programs across the country, according to the National Youth Court Center in Kentucky.

Although things are gong well for the Lewiston-Auburn Youth Court, officials say most of the benefit is going to Auburn. They would like to see more involvement from Lewiston.

The city agreed more than a year ago to join the project. But the Police Department has not referred any cases to the court, officials said. And while nine Lewiston High School students went through Youth Court training, none decided to participate.

Lewiston High School Assistant Principal John Bouchles said the school is working to get more students involved.

“We haven’t had quite the connection with our kids in Lewiston. It’s not without effort,” he said.

Despite Lewiston’s lack of participation, the Lewiston-Auburn Youth Court has drawn the attention of numerous towns and cities across the state. Westbrook, Bethel, Augusta and South Portland and shown interest in starting their own youth courts, Kendall said. The University of Southern Maine’s School of Law has received funding to teach towns about the Youth Cort concept.

Said Cote, “We started a seed here and we’re growing.”