TEENS TO PROSECUTE, DEFEND AND JUDGE IN YOUTH DRUG COURT

Pascagoula - Young offenders will be be prosecuted, defended and
judged by their peers in a new drug court in Jackson County.

Jim Yancey, executive director of the Jackson County Community
Coalition, said the project had been on the drawing board three years.

A recent $37,366 grant from the Mississippi Department of Public
Safety's Office of Justice Program will allow the project to become
reality.

The Jackson County Youth Court is a program partner.

"What happens is the judge oversees the process . The kids will have
their cases heard by the judge and other teens," said Yancey.

Young non-offenders and offenders alike will be trained by attorneys
to fill the roles of lawyers, prosecutors, defenders and judges on
actual cases.

The peers may recommend incarceration or community service in cases
where convictions for drug or alcohol usage are handed down.

"The kids will have their cases heard by the judge and other teens.
What we have found is this is done in a number of places in the
country and we find teenagers tend to be tougher on their peers,"
said Yancey.

The program is expected to kick off in February.

"By early spring, we hope to have teenagers trained so they can
participate in drug court. The youth court judge will oversee the
process," he said.

The Jackson County Board of Supervisors approved the project
Tuesday.

County administrator Alan Sudduth said the project will be on youth
court property that the county owns but the program will not cost the
county anything.

The program is an excellent venue for students interested in careers
in law, said Yancey.

Project director is Kim Styron.

"This is a pilot program. If it works, we hope to institute it in
other counties," said Yancey.

Prior to Hurricane Katrina 80 percent of youths in Jackson County did
not use drugs, he said.

Post Katrina, that data changed. The storm's residual affects has
affected youths as it has adults.

Yancey said youths who've lost a home, do not have a good, positive
relationship with an adult or parents, or are not doing well in
school, are facing risk factors.

He said it does not mean they will drink, but those circumstances
increase the risks.

Positive influences are considered protective factors.

"The more protective factors as teens increases their chances of
making into adult life more successfully," said Yancey.

Contrary to popular belief, alcohol addiction does not begin in adult
life, Yancey explained.

"Most adults did not become alcoholics overnight. They started as
teenagers. Most people don't realize that. The habit started as a
teen and became a coping skill as an adult," said Yancey.

"If you are 15 years old and you start drinking at 15, there is a 40
percent chance you will become an alcoholic. If you can get teenagers
to not use drugs by the time they reach 18, the odds of them ever
becoming addicted to any kind of drugs goes down," he said.