Trial Day in Huntington
A courtroom can be a thrilling place, unless you are the one in the dock. Fifth graders in the Huntington School District’s SEARCH program recently studied every aspect of jurisprudence and after 16 weeks have a strong working knowledge of how the system works.
A major aspect of the unit involved analyzing a mock case based loosely on a real one. “The People of the State of New York versus Jody Winters” kept the youngsters busy reading through stipulated facts and six witness affidavits and studying pictures and maps before weighing whether or not to introduce specific items into evidence.
The fifth graders took care in developing opening and closing statements and reviewing the process of objecting, including how, when and why to do so. Student-lawyers also practiced direct examination questions and answers with their witnesses.
In all, 37 fifth graders from the district who participate in the SEARCH program were divided into prosecution and defense teams. There was an actual hearing to determine whether or not the defendant would have to stand trial on illegal possession of a controlled substance. The prosecution claimed it had probable cause to conduct the search of Mr. Winters’ and his friend’s backpacks. The defense argued that Mr. Winters’ Fourth Amendment rights had been violated when the police purposely targeted this “defenseless group” of teens in order to make an easy arrest. The fact that Mr. Winters claimed he was never asked for his permission to search his backpack was at the heart of the hearing to determine whether or not he would go to trial.
On trial day students showed up in suits, blazers, dress slacks and shirts to fit the part of a specific attorney or witness. Some even carried briefcases. For the past eight years, Mrs. Daly has collaborated with Huntington High School AP Government teacher Deborah Mellon to create an exciting day for the fifth graders. The two teachers carefully select a group of high school students (who are all former SEARCH program participants) to serve as courtroom judges and mentors for their younger counterparts.
During the morning session, the high school students sat with a legal team and worked closely with each member, reviewing questions and answers and coaching the youngsters for their afternoon presentation. In the afternoon session, the students were scheduled to try their case in three separate courtrooms in Woodhull School with a trio of judges presiding over each individual trial.
Mrs. Daly said the trials are “always a great and fun event.” She invited parents to attend the session and to her surprise, and delight, over 40 family members and friends sat in the “courtrooms” to watch the young legal minds go at it. “It was a fun and interesting law day for all involved,” Mrs. Daly said.
Each panel of judges ultimately rendered a decision on which side had prevailed (in two cases the defense won and in a third the prosecution triumphed) and complimented the participants on their preparation and trial professionalism. “The children will remember this day for a long time, which is the focus of this experience,” Mrs. Daly said.
Rebecca Silverman, Huntington High School’s Class of 2010 valedictorian and a former SEARCH student, attended the trial, bringing along the attorney folder, including questions and answers that Mrs. Daly had created for her trial day seven years earlier. “She wanted to show the fifth graders how she had remembered and saved her materials for all these years,” Mrs. Daly said. “It was a super day! Bravo to all our future budding attorneys!”
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