High school students from Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson and Sevier counties will participate May 2 in a state Supreme Court program designed to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.
The 600 students and their teachers from 10 public and private schools will attend a special Supreme Court session at the Sevier County Courthouse where justices will hear oral arguments in three actual cases. Following oral arguments, students will meet for question and answer sessions with attorneys who presented each side in their cases.
All participating students and teachers also will join the Supreme Court for lunch at the Boys and Girls Club of the Smoky Mountains. During lunch and a brief program, students will be seated at tables with the five Supreme Court justices, local judges and attorneys, city, county and school officials.
Chancellor Telford Forgety, Jr., of Dandridge, presiding judge in the 4th Judicial District, is coordinating the project. Schools participating in SCALES - an acronym for the Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students – are Gatlinburg Pittman High School, Pigeon Forge High School, Sevier County High School, Seymour High School, Cocke County High School, Cosby High School, Rutledge High School, Washburn School, The Kings Academy and Jefferson County High School.
The court also will sit April 30 at Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City to hear one case as part of the school’s Sesquicentennial Celebration. The oral argument in Gentry Auditorium of the Henderson Building begins at 1:30 p.m. The case involves custody of a child.
Teachers whose classes are involved in the May 2 SCALES Project attended a three-hour professional development session March 25. Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Patricia J. Cottrell of Nashville discussed the state and federal court systems, answered questions and presented an overview of the three cases to be argued when students attend SCALES. Teachers also were provided with notebooks of materials to use in their classrooms, including suggested activities, and SCALES Project handbooks for each student.
"The Tennessee Supreme Court believes that knowledge and understanding of the judicial branch of government are essential to good citizenship,” Chief Justice Frank Drowota said. “The SCALES Project is designed to educate young participants about the system they will inherit. The interaction we have with the students at lunch and throughout the day also renews our faith that our nation’s future is in good hands.”
Local judges and attorneys met with participating teachers at the professional development session to schedule classroom visits to review the cases and issues to be considered by the Supreme Court. After justices rule in the cases, copies of the court's opinions will be provided to the classes.
"The SCALES Project is important because it creates a partnership between the judiciary, the Bar and schools to promote a better understanding of the judicial branch of government," the chief justice said. "We hope that teachers will use the materials to make judicial education a continuing part of their curriculum."
Issues in the cases students will hear include whether a convicted murderer was denied effective assistance of counsel before and at his trial; whether a death row inmate was denied his right against self-incrimination; and whether the trial court incorrectly allowed the prosecution to introduce evidence of a defendant’s prior criminal convictions during his trial for murder, robbery and kidnaping.
Including SCALES in the 4th Judicial District, more than 9,600 Tennessee students across the state have taken part in the project since the Supreme Court initiated it in 1995.