GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Clay County’s Teen Court took home their first win at the third annual FSU Sunshine State Showdown and they celebrated it on their home turf – in a courtroom.
After not …
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GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Clay County’s Teen Court took home their first win at the third annual FSU Sunshine State Showdown and they celebrated it on their home turf – in a courtroom.
After not placing at last year’s competition, a trophy now sits in the 1890 Historic Courthouse at 915 Walnut St. While proceedings usually happen in the second-story courtroom, Monday night it was a chamber for celebration.
“I’m just so excited,” Teen Court Defense Attorney and Social Media Manager Linnea Stuart said. “I just don’t have the words. We’re all ready for the next one because going into this one, we didn’t necessarily expect to get first place but now that we’ve got the trophy, we’re ready to keep going.”
Stuart was joined by nine of her team members, as well as their mentors, coordinator Stacey Smith and head coach Kendra New. Smith said there are 25 teen attorneys in Teen Court and 11 of them went to the competition on Oct. 12-13. The team of 11 competed in four rounds and they won each of them.
In fact, they never lost a ballot which means that both judges in each round voted in favor of their team. To get first place, the team had to take part in a case as representatives for the defendants or as the prosecutor. Two judges casted their ballot of guilt or innocence based on the team performances.
New wasn’t surprised by the outcome. She pushed them hard and settled for nothing less than perfection.
“I’m so proud of them,” New said. “These kids really gave it their all and I am not easy on them. I’m very hard on them, in fact. I set a very high bar for them and they have to come prepared every time and show me their putting in their best effort because perfection is what we strive for.
“It certainly paid off.”
Before becoming a lawyer, New was a member of Teen Court. Following her high school graduation, she went to the University of Tampa before going onto law school at Florida International University in Miami. After practicing law in Miami for a year, she returned to Clay County and was back in Teen Court – now as a coach for the next generation of lawyers.
Stuart said she hopes to someday return to Teen Court in the same capacity so she can pass along lessons she learned from New.
For now, though, Stuart is content taking home the first-place trophy with her fellow Teen Court teammates. And if everything goes according to plan, it won’t be the team’s last.