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Judges Open Courthouse Doors to Future Jurors

High school students will assume the identity of jurors and serve on a teen death-penalty case in this year's Open Doors to Federal Courts national outreach initiative.

The 2005 theme is Jury Service: The Many Faces of Justice. The case serving as the focal point is based on the Supreme Court's 2004 decision in Roper v. Simmons, and takes students through the jury selection and sentencing aspects of the process.

The national launch for the program is November 10, but federal courts across the country are being urged to host the event at anytime throughout the year.

The program acquaints students with the legal issues concerning the imposition of capital punishment. A judge and lawyers from the Federal Public Defender's office and the U.S. Attorney's office each work with students in their respective roles to make the court simulation work.

Since 1999, more than 350 appellate, district, magistrate and bankruptcy judges have hosted more than 200,000 high school students at Open Doors events in their courts. Jury service has been a component of all of the programs because the overriding objective of the Open Doors program is to motivate young people to serve on juries when they are called.

For more on such national programs, see www.uscourts.gov/outreach/index.html.