Colonial fifth graders argue mock Supreme Court case in real federal courtrooms

By Colonial Times Team Coverage

BROOKLYN -- Colonial School’s fifth graders enjoyed a fascinating trip to U.S. Bankruptcy Court, where the students argued a hypothetical First Amendment case in two real courtrooms.

The fifth graders were split into two groups for two separate hearings of the same case. Students had one of three jobs: U.S. Supreme Court Justice, U.S. government lawyer or counsel representing the fictional newspaper the Denver Dispatch.

Under a project called Constitution Works, the case they argued was about whether it was constitutional or not for the government to block the Denver Dispatch from publishing a series of articles revealing a secret biological warfare research center in Boulder, Colorado. The government claimed the lab and its information were secret and sought a court order blocking publication of the stories. The Denver Dispatch lost twice in the federal courts and appealed all the way to Supreme Court.

Fifth grade teacher Piera Hattar brought Constitution Works to Colonial School last year, after running the program at a previous school.

With the justices wearing black robes and the opposing parties sitting at the counsel tables, the Colonial teams took over two courtrooms at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to run two versions of the hypothetical hearing.

Judge Elizabeth Stong, who sits on the bankruptcy court, visited both hearings and talked to the students about being a judge and the court system. Stong, a co-founder of Constitution Works, said she helped start the program “because I think it is really important to help kids learn about the constitution.”

Dana Stein, the educational moderator assigned to one of the courtrooms, said, “I work for the Justice Resource Center. It is the organization that runs programs like Constitution Works. I like helping students to understand the law and constitution and what it is like to be in court.”

The fifth grader teachers liked the program.

“I thought it was a lot of fun and I think the students did a great job,” said Mr. Ronald Martucci. “I really liked it when the judge visited us, too. I’m looking forward to the judges ruling on Monday. The food afterward was delicious. I think the students learned a lot about the constitution and public speaking.”

All of the kids expressed their endorsement of the project. Everything from preparing to the trip itself seemed to be enjoyed by the students, who also learned many new things about the judicial system.

Andrew Kelly, Supreme Court Chief Justice in courtroom B, said, “It was fun because I got to bang a gavel and run the court. The case was pretty good. I learned enough to back up my questions.”

Maya Spunberg, Chief Justice in courtroom A, said, “I felt proud to be a Chief Justice because there were only two out of 18 and I was one of them. The case and going to the court was also really fun.”

Georgia Russello, lead counsel for the Denver Dispatch in one of the hearings, said, “I think the Dispatch is going to win. We had a good argument. I think we made many points that supported our side of the case really well.”

Rowan Proffitt, an Associate Justice in courtroom A, said, “It was really fun listening to what the press and the government said. This was because I was really looking forward to hearing arguments for both sides.”

“I liked that you got to assign people and help them do their best,” said Austin Kelley, a chief counsel for the Denver Dispatch in one of the hearings.

“Being a justice was very interesting,” said Ava Pedorella. “The answers I received to my questions were not what I expected, but they were still interesting.”

Dean Shannon, chief counsel for the U.S. government, said, “we hadn’t prepared enough for the justices’ questions, but our arguments were pretty good.”

The field trip was very fun and original. It was also different because all parents were invited and many of them packed the citizen seats in both courts.

“I thought it was a great showcase, and I thought the students did a very good job in making this argument realistic,” said Ms. Nancy Tsang.

Ms. Eileen Miller “thought it was awesome. What I like best was how authentic it was. I loved the robes the justices wore.”

In one lighter moment, the deep involvement of the students in their roles was demonstrated when Ms. Stein, the moderator, asked who was a lawyer, meaning of the parents in the audience. All the hands of the kids shot up.

Colonial Times Team Coverage provided by Tisya Sharma, Eileen Mazzaro, Georgia Russello, Jack Tirsch, Kate Girolamo, Kathryn Alexander, Charlotte Nanda, Emma Spencer, Paige Felgner, Malia McLellan, Caroline Michailoff, Ella Miller, Viviane Privat, Sofia Carmona, Thomas Shelton, Ben Busschaert, Cate McLean and Eleanor Moraes.

This story also appears on the Colonial Times website.