San Ramon is a safe city.

According to Neighborhood Scout, San Ramon is safer than 87 percent of other Californian cities. But while this statistical report provides a fact, it neglects a percentage of the population who demonstrate usual misbehavior: Teenagers.

Whether the cause is “angsty” rebellion or peer pressure, teenagers who are caught committing petty crimes, such as petty theft, drug possession, or assault and battery, are allowed to take ownership of their actions and erase the “incident” from their records.

The system that oversees this is called youth courts.

“When you’re a teenager, the most important judgment comes from your peers, which is often the reason they’re at youth court in the first place,” said Smitha Priya, a junior at Dougherty Valley High, “While they’re on the stand, they see their peers’ reaction to their actions as well as the effect the incident had on their family, who watches in the audience.”

Priya has been part of the jury since her freshman year in high school and started volunteering as an advocate last year.

The first youth court was created in 1968 and by 2010, there were more than 1,050 youth courts operating throughout the nation. Youth courts do not decide if a person is innocent or guilty of an action. They decide what “sentence” the defendant should receive or what the individual can do for the community.

While advocates suggest possible sentences, a jury of peers ultimately has the final say.

For minors to participate in youth court, they must be first-time offenders and must admit responsibility for what they did.

“I like that we get to help real kids our age and I think we have a chance to make a difference in each others’ lives,” said Ashley Johnson, a sophomore at Foothill High in Pleasanton.

I am a jury member and an advocate in the Tri-Valley youth court. As a jury member, I listen to the case being presented by an advocate in front of a legitimately certified judge.

An advocate will communicate with their defendant prior to the court date and create an opening statement, a series of questions ranging from the defendant’s background to the “incident” to their thoughts, and a closing argument.

It is the role of a jury member to listen to a trial with empathy.

Cliché as it may seem, empathy is not simply attentive listening or imagining oneself in another’s shoes. Empathy in youth court is an active action of attempting to understand, to ask questions, and to imagine oneself in the environment and mentality of another peer.

“Youth court is a wonderful opportunity for students to help each other and learn from each other,” said program director Tonya Clenney. “There is something powerful about sitting back and watching that happen.”

While Clenney oversees each trial, and adult volunteers supervise jury discussions about each defendant, youth volunteers oversee all aspects of the case.

“I have learned that each offense has a resonance behind it, and not all of them being for selfish or irresponsible intentions.” said Caleb Ko, a junior at San Ramon Valley High, “The reasons may be because of bullying, family issues, personal need, or even just to see if they could pass it off.”

When I started volunteering for youth court, I innately expected to see what media portrayed law to be. I imagined dramatic expressions of twisted motives and mini lawyers who valiantly defended the infringed rights of their fellow citizen.

I was wrong. The youth court is not a glamorous façade of power; it is a humble community of peers. Our idea of justice is sometimes so easily skewed that we focus so much on what we believe that we forget what is real.