Youth Traffic Court: Justice for students, by students

EVERETT — For teenage drivers, getting pulled over can lead to increased insurance rates, a permanent mark on their newly acquired driving records and costly fines.

Snohomish County’s Youth Traffic Court provides teens with an alternative.

On Friday, Todd Hutchings and Ryder Anderson appeared in court to resolve their respective civil traffic infractions for speeding. But, instead of standing before a judge, both boys sat in a circle of pushed-together courtroom benches filled with fellow students wearing matching Youth Traffic Court shirts.

Youth courts provide an alternative method for “hearing and disposing of traffic infractions, transit infractions, or civil infractions” committed by 16- to 17-year-olds, according to Washington law.

Unlike adult court, these hearings are run by students, for students. Around 1,050 youth court programs take place across the country, according to the National Association of Youth Courts.

Last week, Snohomish County held its first Youth Traffic Court hearing, focusing on restorative justice, repairing harm over punishment, and empowering participants to play active roles in how justice is served, according to the website.

The cited driver, referred to as the respondent, agrees that a traditional court would find their alleged infraction was committed. Rather than paying a fine, a respondent may be assigned community service, an essay on an assigned topic, to write a letter of apology, or other alternative forms of punishment. All respondents are required to participate in future youth hearings.

Completion can result in the dismissal of the infraction with nothing added to the teen’s driving record.

Anthony Howard, a Snohomish County District Court judge, has had Youth Traffic Court on his mind for years.

“But like many good ideas, it had to wait for the right moment,” he said in an email.

During a probable cause hearing, Howard heard a case involving a young man involved in a fatal high-speed crash. His record was littered with speeding tickets from when he was a teenager, each one met “with little more than a fine,” Howard said.

It made him wonder: “If his first citation had involved something more meaningful – accountability, education, reflection – could the tragedy have been avoided?”

The fatal crash rate per mile driven is three times higher for 16- to 17-year-old drivers than for those 20 and older, according to the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. For crashes of all severities, 16- to 19-year-olds have an almost four times higher crash rate.

While unsafe driving does not always result in a crash or injury, Howard said, it always increases the risk.

“These are often inexperienced drivers making dangerous choices that affect everyone on the road,” Howard said. “We needed a new approach, one that reached young people early and meaningfully.”

Youth Traffic Court was also personal for Howard, whose teenage son, Finley Howard, had just earned his driver’s license.

“I wanted him to be safe and to avoid making a decision that could harm another family,” Howard said. “Launching Youth Traffic Court gave us a project to work on together that could serve the broader community.”

Finley said when his dad approached him with the idea, he began sharing the news around school.

While the program is piloted through Marysville Getchell High School, after word spread, students from Lake Stevens High School and Kamiak High School joined. Howard hopes the program will expand into multiple schools and courtrooms.

The court is entirely volunteer-run. Snohomish County has not provided dedicated funding, Howard said.

Tara Faust from the Snohomish County District Court’s Probation Services volunteered to be the program’s coordinator. The program has also garnered participation from local law enforcement and Stacey McShane, who manages Snohomish County’s Target Zero program.

While Howard is there to provide guidance, the students are running the show. During a prep session the week before, four students volunteered to act as the judge, bailiff and mentors. The rest are circle members tasked with asking questions and collaborating on the requirements for an infraction’s dismissal.

During the next hearing, another set of teens will get a chance to fill these roles.

At the prep session, Finley, who followed in his dad’s footsteps as the youth court’s judge, said he was looking forward to “seeing everyone’s hard work all come together.”

During the hearing, Finley guided the circle through various discussions on the incident and its potential impacts. Fellow Marysville Getchell student Liliana Arias helped move each phase of the hearing along as the bailiff.

Liliana said that while she doesn’t have her license yet, this experience has made her think differently about road safety.

Marysville Getchell students Lily Hudson and Gianna Morales acted as mentors, tasked with helping circle members understand who the respondent is outside of this incident.

Lily loves driving and has an interest in the legal system, she said. She joined the court because she “wants to make the roads safer.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing the process,” Lily said at the prep session. “I’ve never been in a courtroom before.”

Gianna said she joined the court to “give the respondents a second chance.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting the respondent and helping them,” she said.

After the Friday hearing, mentors will provide continued peer guidance as the respondent completes the conditions for the infraction’s dismissal.

Law enforcement officers are also a part of the circle. Their role is to provide context about the infraction and answer traffic-related questions. On Friday, Lake Stevens Officer David Carter and Deputy Taylor Davis answered questions like, “What would a crash at the respondent’s speed look like?” and “How do road conditions impact driving?”

When it came time to decide on the hearing’s outcome, circle members took respondents’ school and workloads into account. They assigned each teen eight hours of community service, an hour for every $25 of their fine, and to attend one Youth Traffic Court hearing and prep session.

Circle members recommended community service ideas based on the respondents’ interests, such as music, cars and being outdoors.

“This is the only program I know of where teenagers, guided by restorative principles, make binding decisions in real cases,” Howard said. “They take ownership of the process, and in doing so, they gain skills and confidence that will stay with them long after graduation.”

The next Youth Traffic Court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27. Future hearings will occur on March 27, April 24 and May 29, said Faust in an email. Teens hoping to get involved can apply on the program’s website. For other inquiries, contact SDC-YouthTrafficCourt@snoco.org or 425-262-2600.

Correction: A previous version of this story said there are four hearings scheduled for February. There are four respondents scheduled for the February session.

Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com; X: @JennaMillikan