DECATUR - LaTaija Johnson, one of more 45 high school students who went through training Wednesday afternoon to become jurors for Macon County's Teen Court, asked a question worth repeating.

After learning during a mock hearing that a 16-year-old basketball player disagreed with the punishment his father gave him after he was arrested for possession of alcohol, the Eisenhower High School senior asked what consequences he thought would be better.

"That's a really good question," said Laura Kidd, an intern with the Teen Court program. "Could you say that again that real loud please?"

LaTaija's question reflected the Teen Court philosophy and so did the sentence the students discussed - one requiring the offender to help out with basketball at the local Boys & Girls Club and perform additional community service at an agency serving individuals with substance abuse problems - a sentence that addressed his strengths and his weaknesses.

"Our job isn't to judge," said Barbara Stevens, a junior at Decatur Christian School. "Our job is to aid in the rebuilding process."

That was the main point of the four-hour training Wednesday afternoon at the Hope Academy Center of Richland Community College. The newest additions to the court's jury pool, who will begin serving next month, also represent Argenta-Oreana, Maroa-Forsyth and St. Teresa high schools.

Twelve teen jurors under the guidance of a local attorney convene Macon County's Teen Court twice a month at the Macon County Health Department to dispense restorative justice to mostly nonviolent juvenile offenders as an alternative to the juvenile court system.

Huston Mathias, another intern, said told trainees that being a juror gave him a fresh perspective on his own problems. "I saw that my stuff wasn't so horrible," he said.

Shelleay Green, a senior at MacArthur High School, said she was impressed by how the process seeks to repair all the damage caused by an offender's behavior.

"It's not just the victim who gets hurt," she said. "It's anybody the crime negatively affects."

Jaron Adams, a junior at Eisenhower High School, said Teen Court works by giving juvenile offenders a second chance. "Teenagers can relate better to other teenagers, so it's really helping," he said.

Theresa Churchill can be reached at tchurchill@herald-review.com or 421-7978.

For more information about Macon County's Teen Court, call administrator David Kidd at 424-1400.