Merryhill Elementary Students Enjoy Moot Courtroom Visit

Students in Mary Briggs' Merryhill Elementary School third-grade class visited King Hall on March 10 to take part in a mock trial in the Wilkins Moot Courtroom.  Eighteen students, accompanied by eight parental chaperones, participated in the proceedings, acting as attorneys, plaintiff, defendant, jurors, a witness, and a bailiff in the trial of Curly Pig, accused of wolf poaching by B.B. Wolf.  Cecilia Moddelmog, who has two children in Briggs' class, acted as judge.

Briggs praised Dean Kevin R. Johnson for making the courtroom visit possible.  "Thanks to you, along with the help of Debra Hicks, our class had a phenomenal experience in the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, as well as a greater understanding of the judicial branch," she stated.

Students seemed equally impressed, and many said that being allowed to hold their mock trial in King Hall made the experience especially meaningful.  "The mock trial at UC Davis was super special because it was so much cooler in a courtroom than just doing it in our room," Sanjana Bajwa wrote of the experience afterwards.  "We actually got to feel how it was like in a courtroom."

"I was blown away by how much learning was involved in this field trip," wrote Kalia Silbaugh.  "The Moot Courtroom really gave me a good picture how a real court case is like.  The experience was so fun, and I really treasure being able to come.  I loved arguing that Curly Pig was a guilty liar.  The room fascinated me so much, but I truly was fascinated by the witness stand.  The mock trial we did was completed by the room.  We could have done it in our room, but we did it in the Moot Courtroom, and that was a HUGE privilege for me.  It was so fun!"

Although the trial ended in a hung jury, Briggs said that the proceedings had a big impact on her students.  "If nothing else, I think they learned that the way we protect each others' rights is not as simple as they might initially believe," Briggs said.  Some of the students, she noted, have started to use terms such as "hearsay" and "objection!" in attempting to resolve playground disputes.  "There are definitely some future judges and litigators in the bunch!"