HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) - A jury of fifth-grade students found their peer not guilty of stealing a hat this past Monday, during a mock trial presentation in Cabell Circuit Court that put to work their newfound knowledge of the justice system.
Cabell Circuit Judge Gregory L. Howard, who hosted the gaggle of giggling students, spent the morning testing their knowledge and providing additional information unique to Cabell County and the West Virginia court system.
Samantha Doutt, a fifth-grade teacher at Central City Elementary School, said participation in a mock trial was a requirement for the students this year, so she, along with her fellow teachers, decided to fully immerse the students into the project.
“I feel like they really need to be able to apply the things we teach them to real life,” she said. “They need to see how these things have real life application or they aren’t going to retain it and it’s not going to matter. To be able to see this play out in a real life situation is very important to them.”
The students filed into the courtroom with bright faces full of excitement, ready for the hands-on experience. Doutt said hands-on experience goes a long way with young students.
“They have been so excited. They keep asking are we going to get to see this or do this,” she said. “We have some kids who have had experience with the courtroom through adoption and things of that nature. Some have positive experience and I’m sure there have been negative ones as well.”
Doutt said about 65 students had been studying the court system since returning to school earlier this month. They first studied a case involving Goldilocks and the Three Bears to learn terminology and positions.
“Our kids were talking to us and said this one seemed a bit babyish,” Doutt said. “Then we found a different one that was a little more real life for them. It’s about a fifth-grade student who was accused of taking someone’s hat. He wanted to have his chance to be proven not guilty.”
And not guilty he was found. A jury of fellow peers found the hat had been planted in the defendant’s backpack by another person. Doutt said the script was specifically picked to show the students two sides of the court system.
“The great majority of our kids don’t have experience with the court, so we wanted to give them a positive experience and show them that if you do something that is wrong, there are consequences for it,” she said. “But the other side of it is that the system can work for you.”
___
Information from: The Herald-Dispatch, https://www.herald-dispatch.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.