Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Now that's more like it

Just wanted to share a nice moment from court. Kid in for attempted burglary of someone's home, been working with probation since his arrest and in court today, with his father by his side, to figure out what to do with his case.

The resolution was good for him, keeps a conviction off his record if he turns it around, which is the point of all we do here, pretty much. Anyway, the probation officer just finished giving an update to the judge, who approved the resolution, and then the kid himself pipes up (now, remember what happened when the last kid piped up, not pretty).

So this fourteen-year-old tells the judge that he wants his dad to know how grateful he is for everything he'd done for him, how he's sorry he disappointed him, and how with his dad's support he'll never come our way (i.e. juvie court) again. A very rare, surprising, and touching moment. After they left, the judge, defense counsel and I just sat there for a moment, soaking up the good moment, enjoying it.

6 comments:

  1. THIS is exactly the reason I want to get into law. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. I'm so glad you posted this, because I was kind of depressed after your last post about juvie court! :) Very uplifting.

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  3. Thanks guys. Juvie can be sad and depressing, but think about it: is there anything in the world more important than redirecting a wayward kid, moving him from the path of self-destruction to the path of self-improvement? If there is, I can't imagine it. Mostly it happens without me seeing it, but today, well, I caught a glimpse.

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  4. I wish fervently for more moments like that!

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  5. Oh, wow. That's so cool. I wish we heard more stories like that. It sounds like this kid really stands a chance. Makes you happy to do your job, doesn't it? :)

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  6. Me too, Lisa, me too. And yes, April, absolutely it does. :)

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