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Students Talk About Impact of Bill of Rights on their lives at Judiciary's Open Doors of Justice Program

Judge Gladys Kessler(D.D.C), photo left, listens to arguments with students during the Open Doors of Justice program at the District Court of the District of Columbia. Students participated enthusiastically as judges (center photo), attorneys and jurors. Judge Ricardo M. Urbinan(D.D.C) swears in jurors before the mock hearing.

Last month, students from high schools across the country visited over 40 federal courthouses to let federal judges know how they felt about the importance of the Bill of Rights in their lives. The event, Open Doors of Justice, The Bill of Rights in Your Life, was part of the federal Judiciary's national outreach initiative on the role of the federal courts.

The Open Doors theme comes from a statement by Chief Justice John Jay, who once described the work of the federal Judiciary as "carrying justice to every man's door."

In the course of the program, students watched a national broadcast on the Bill of Rights, then participated in a moot court hearing on an actual U.S. Supreme Court case involving the Fourth Amendment. Following the mock hearing, students had a ready-made forum to express their views on the Bill of Rights to judges and local attorneys who had volunteered to assist with the program. Some students also participated in an optional local essay contest sponsored by some district courts and bar associations. Educators participating in the program were prepared, having earlier taken part in local court-sponsored Teachers' Institutes that offered guidance in how to use the materials.

		"It was a wonderful opportunity to make the work of the federal court have meaning for students who might be studying the courts, but who don't really have an opportunity to see us in action," said clerk of court Jim Woodward from the Eastern District of Missouri in St. Louis. Chief Judge Jean C. Hamilton agreed. "I hope that among the important things they learned," said Hamilton, "was that the people who work in the courthouse-the judges, the staff, the lawyers-are all people they can talk to, and who care about what they're doing and the system in which they work." Magistrate Judge Ann Medler added, "I think one of the things they learned was that it's not easy to be a judge, to sort through the facts and come to a conclusion.
On the day of the Program, Judge John G. Heyburn II (W.D. Ky.), Photo left, invited students into his cahmbers and responded to their questions about his work as a federal judge. Students (photo right) also had the oportunity to ask questions and give their views of the Bill of Rights in their lives.

The case we had today was a close call, and the students were able to see both sides and how the system works in a close call." Joshua Shindler, an attorney participating in the day's events, hoped that the students gained an appreciation of the federal court system. "It think it's very important that students walk away with an understanding that we are a country of laws, but that those laws are applied by individual judges and jurors," Shindler said.

At the District Court for the District of Columbia, students from several high schools were actively involved in the day's proceedings. "They had the chance to live out roles as prosecutors, defense attorneys, marshals, judges, bailiffs, and courtroom deputies," said Judge Emmet G. Sullivan. "There's no doubt in my mind they left here with a good feeling about the judicial system." Both Judge Gladys Kessler and Judge Ricardo M. Urbina, who also presided at the moot court hearings in Washington, D.C., felt the students learned how important their rights are under the Constitution. "The Open Doors program promotes something that is very important to our community," said Urbina, "and that is acquainting young people with the importance of the law and the administration of justice. We gave them a hands-on opportunity to participate, and perhaps made them interested in becoming jurors and lawyers in the future."

Teacher Gaylyn McGelroy accompanied her Central High School students to the Open Doors program in Louisville, Kentucky at the District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. When asked what she thought her students learned from the experience, she replied, "I think they will take away a deeper understanding of how the Bill of Rights relates to them as United States citizens. They asked questions that were pertinent to their everyday lives. You could see they were really thinking about it."

Judge John G. Heyburn II (W.D. Ky.) agreed. "They study it [the Bill of Rights] in a book, and then they come here and hear it directly from someone who has to wrestle with those problems," he said. "I also think students begin to appreciate that all these questions are not black and white. That they're difficult, that there are human beings involved, and that there is a process that is all part of American democracy. They can feel a lot of pride in that. And also see themselves as being a part of it some day."
More information on educational outreach, including lesson plans for high school law-related educators, is available on the Judiciary's website at www.uscourts.gov.	Magistrate Judge Mary Ann L. Medler (E.DMo), Photo left) talks with students about the Supreme Court case they were to consider, while Judge Carol E. Jackson (E.D. Mo.), photo right, questions student attorneys during the hearing.