Staten Island Youth Court Graduation


Just home from a wonderful night in Staten Island, where we celebrated the graduation of the first class of members of the State Island Youth Court. There were numerous special moments. First, it was good to see Dan Donovan, the Richmond County DA (pictured above) out in support of the youth court -- his endorsement is crucial to the project's ability to handle criminal cases in addition to referrals from family court, probation and the police. Donovan's enthusiasm for the project was exceeded only by Judith Kaye's. This was Judge Kaye's third visit to the youth court in less than a year. Her commitment to the project has helped keep all of the necessary players on point -- and pushed the project to reach the highest possible standard of excellence. Finally, the best part of the event was the palpable excitement on the part of the youth court members -- both the outgoing class and the incoming class, which was formally inducted tonight. At the risk of being corny, it made me feel good about our city to see a cross-section of teens who are willing to give up their free time to learn more about the law and help make their community a safer place. Congrats to Raye, Jackie, Melissa and Sabrina for putting together tonight's program.

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