Bolingbrook Students Get Legal Advice

Submitted by Valley View School District 365U

Photo: Cook County Assistant Public Defender Chandra Smith talks with Bolingbrook High School American Government students.

Despite the fact that the document was written well over 200 years ago, the Bill of Rights still remains a key factor in the lives of all Americans.

That’s what Cook County Assistant Public Defender Chandra Smith told Portia Worthy’s American Government classes at Bolingbrook High School Thursday as they concluded their study of the constitutional rights afforded to all U.S. citizens.

Smith, who lives in Bolingbrook, explained various rights but spent most of her time talking about a citizen’s right to due process and the moral dilemmas that often present themselves in unfortunate situations.

“I hope that none of you are ever arrested,” she said. “But if you are, the street is not the place to fight. The courtroom is where you should fight. It doesn’t help for you to say ‘you can’t do this to me. Why are you doing this?’ You may be right but the street is not the place to prove it. You have a better chance once you get to court.”

Smith detailed the entire legal process including the differences between a misdemeanor and a felony (“felonies can and will ruin your life….they stay with you forever”), an individual’s rights in an interrogation situation (“the only thing you should do is request an attorney”), and sentencing (“prison is not a pretty place. It’s cold. It’s dingy. It has a horrendous smell. It’s not a good place to go.”)

“You do have rights. But the streets are not the place to prove it,” she said. “The place to fight is in the courtroom. You get more with honey than you do with vinegar.”

As part of the classroom exercise following Smith’s presentation, students were asked to turn in papers described how the Bill of Rights impacts their own lives.