Judge Steven Teske On the Tragic Shooting Death of a Deputy and the Boy Accused of Killing him

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I was in my car recently listening to news radio when I heard that one of our deputies was killed trying to apprehend an armed robbery suspect.  I was shocked and pained -- I knew the deputy.  What followed magnified my pain. It quickly morphed to anger -- the suspect was Jonathon Bun, a 17 year old with juvenile court history in my county. In this business we must ask ourselves: “Could we have done anything different to prevent this tragedy?”  I understand Mr. Bun is innocent until proven guilty, but solely for the purpose of self-assessment, there is much we can learn from Mr. Bun and his journey through the juvenile justice system that may improve the way we do business -- that could reduce the number of victims-and maybe save lives. We know from the research that 8 percent of all kids arrested for the first time are serious high-risk offenders.  We call them the “8 Percent Problem.”  This small percentage of juveniles are arrested repeatedly (a minimum of four times within a 3-year period) and are responsible for about 55 percent of repeat cases. In other words, most of the serious juvenile crimes are committed by a handful of kids in our communities.  If we can target that 8 percent, we can significantly reduce serious juvenile crime.  We call that the “8 Percent Solution.”

We have also learned from the research that this “8 Percent Problem” population possesses identifiable characteristics.

Judge Steven Teske On the Two Faces of Juvenile Justice

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During my 12 years on the bench, a few of my law enforcement friends have asked me why I take -- in their perspective -- a “soft” approach with kids coming before me. “Judge, you don’t see them on the streets when we deal with them,” they say.  “You see them in court with a smile and looking good.”

The question of my apparent naive approach to kids is valid -- from their perspective of course. For example, I recall this one kid four years ago. He was 15 years old and his name was Kenny. He personified the kids my friends described -- angry, disrespectful, and defiant.

Judge Steven Teske On Fathers, Sons and Growing Up

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It was 1984 and my parent’s silver anniversary was approaching. I am the oldest of four and my sister Kelly and I were like pirates in my parent’s attic rummaging for marital mementos for the surprise celebration. Eventually, we found an assortment of items appropriate for table display. “Look at this” shouted my sister. I scampered over to her location.

Judge Steven Teske: Build Not a Foundation of Sand

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I am sitting in the back of a room at a local non-profit -- observing a break-out session with parents of troubled kids. John is leading the session. He is 20 years old. A father raises his hand and says, “My boy wants to play basketball all day. He doesn’t go to school.

Judge Steven Teske on Mother’s Day and Mom’s Tough Love

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Parental involvement in the life of a child buffers kids from delinquency.  But involvement is something more than supervision ---  it’s about being functional --- telling your kids what they need to hear no matter the pain to them and to you.  My mother was one of those pain-giving parents. One of those maternal tormenting moments occurred in 1968. I was eight and squatting behind a car with two friends.  They were brothers and older than me.  We had something in common --- we didn’t get along with Randy.  Randy and his friends were on the other side of the street. They were throwing rocks at us. The brothers and I took refuge behind a car hoping they wouldn’t throw anything.

Judge Steve Teske On The Road Less Traveled to Make Good Law for Kids

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“What begins with anger ends with shame.”

Benjamin Franklin

I was asked this past week to visit the North Carolina General Assembly and speak to legislators about effective juvenile justice practices -- what works and what doesn’t work.  Like Georgia and most states, North Carolina too was hit hard by the economy and is making hard decisions to cut programs — the state is 3.6 billion in the hole. The irony of budgeting in a fiscal crisis is that it forces policymakers to scrutinize the way things have always been done. When you have to cut, the question is what to cut and hopefully the less effective programs are cut and replaced by more effective and cost efficient alternatives. Our discussions in North Carolina focused on what works and what doesn’t work -- and typically what works is more cost effective. What doesn’t work is less effective and more expensive to the taxpayer --incarceration of kids in most circumstances is ineffective.

Judge Steven Teske on the Politics of Fear: Debunking the Superpredator Myth

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The Second of a Three-Part Series by the Judge on the Subject of Trying Juveniles as Adults. I took the bench and asked if the parties were ready to proceed. “Yes, your Honor,” they all announced in unison. I looked up and saw a young man, 16 years old, trying hard to hold back his tears. His parents sitting to his left, his attorney to his right — his hands quivering.

Judge Steve Teske: A Perfect Storm, An Imperfect System Equals Injustice

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We moved to Clayton County, GA in 1974.  I was 14 years old.  I had lived in nine different cities from California to New York, and back to our southern roots when my father was transferred to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. My childhood took me many places.  I met a lot of kids of all physical, emotional, spiritual, and social shapes and sizes.  Benjamin Disraeli once said that “Travel teaches toleration.”  In hindsight I must agree with the former British Prime Minister.  My travels have introduced me to different religious beliefs, political and social thoughts, and people of all colors and cultural backgrounds.  My childhood friends were white, black, red, yellow, and brown.  They were Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Christian of all denominations, atheist, and agnostic.  They came from families of varying political persuasions from conservative to liberal, from Republican to Democrat to Independent, and with economic tastes from capitalism to socialism in varying degrees. 

My many childhood friends from coast to coast in a thirteen year time span expanded my understanding of diversity and taught me to be tolerant of those with different cultures and beliefs.  However, toleration, I have learned, is a double edge sword.  In the words of Edmund Burke, “Toleration is good for all, or it is good for none.”  The determinative question when the tolerant sword is cutting is “Which side of the sword is doing the cutting?”  Is it the cutting edge that promotes the acceptance of people regardless of their differing beliefs or the edge that promotes the acquiescence of conduct hurtful toward others?  The former is good for al l, the latter is good for none. This concept of toleration raises an interesting paradox when applied to the arrest of kids on school campuses.  I think we can all agree that there should be no toleration of student disruption of any kind.  I helped to raise three children. They are now adults and doing quite well.  All my kids attended public schools.