Two local court cases will be held at Thomas Jefferson High School on April 11th for students to observe and gain a better understanding of the appeals court systems.
Justice meets TJ. Photo by Ed Gloor
On April 11th, Thomas Jefferson High School will host two local court cases from the Colorado Court of Appeals – one negligence case and one civil case – in the auditorium, for TJ students to observe and witness how trials actually work.
The cases will begin in the morning and last until lunch. Attorneys will present their cases and have oral arguments for each, after which students will be allowed to ask them questions.
The first case is Colorado Vs. Lam, in which a man was detained at Denver International Airport unlawfully when security searched him and found twenty thousand dollars rolled up in cash. The argument that will be presented at TJ is the defendant’s detention at DIA was unreasonable and in violation of the constitution.
The second case is McCambridge vs. Mullette, a negligence suit, in which Defendant Kerri Mullette is stating there were inconsistencies with the jury’s proceedings in the original trial.
“I’m hoping my students will gain a better understanding of how appeals cases look, especially the McCambridge vs. Mullette because it’s a technicality case. The most significant decisions are made in appeals courts, not trials, but people know very little about them, so I want my students to see how they actually work,” said AP Government Teacher Jon Poole.
Students will also be able to ask the justices and lawyers questions after they have given the verdict. “It will be like holding court in our very own auditorium,” said Poole.
Classes involved include Mark Smith’s, Jenn Sonheim’s, Matt Nicolo’s, Linda Estlund’s, and Jon Poole’s. “This will be a great opportunity for kids interested in the law to be exposed to the real world of the courts,” said Poole.
The Colorado Court of Appeals consists of 22 judges who are required to serve eight-year terms. Their mission statement is to provide Colorado citizens with clear and timely resolutions of appealed orders and judgments provided by the law. The Court of Appeals also reviews decisions of several state administrative agencies, and its determination of an appeal is final unless the Colorado Supreme Court wishes to reevaluate it.
FOLLOW-UP:
A three-judge panel of the Colorado Court of Appeals came to Thomas Jefferson High School and gave students a look into the justice system.
On April 11, 2012 there were three judges at TJ listening to two cases and afterward gave students a chance for a Q & A. The judges were Gilbert Roman, David J. Richman, and Gale T. Miller. These judges belong to an organization called Courts in the Community that is a program designed to give students a firsthand look at the legal system. “They reached out to us first and then Ms. Just contacted me so that we could schedule a time for them to come,” said TJ Social Studies Teacher Jon Poole.
Thomas Jefferson students got the chance to hear a case about an appeal of civil judgment regarding negligence in a Fort Collins car crash. The other case involved a criminal charge against Cong T. Lam, who had been charged with a home-invasion robbery, but he appealed the decision saying investigators unlawfully searched him. “My favorite was the case dealing with negligence because with business that is happening all the time,” said Business Technology Teacher Matt Nicolo.
After the cases were heard, the judges and lawyers opened it up for questions from the students. One TJ student asked was why there were three judges hearing the case and not one, like on TV shows? The students learned that when a case reaches the appellate level, a court of law that hears appeals of a trial court or other lower tribunal, judges are looking for legal errors, and having an odd number of judges guarantees there won’t be a tie on a decision.
One group of students that got the chance to witness the cases was Edward Salazar’s U.S. History class. During first period, the class went down to the auditorium and listened in on the cases. “I really liked the second case, it was my favorite. I liked being able to see the lawyers fight for their clients and it made me excited to go off to college and do what they were doing,” said senior and aspiring lawyer, Daniela Cardona.
In a couple of weeks the fate of these cases will be decided and the court plans on sending the results to TJ so the students know the outcome. “The court made a decision on the case involving the car crash and negligence. They decided that a car accident could have negligence, so basically the guy won. We are still waiting for the decision on the other case,” said Poole.
Having the judicial system brought to TJ was a great opportunity, and TJ teachers say they would be welcomed back with open arms. “I think the students really enjoyed this experience. I was very impressed with the questions they asked. This was a luxury that most students don’t get; it was a chance for them to see behind the curtain, kind of like in The Wizard of Oz and they got to see the wizard,” said Nicolo.
