American Legion Boys State delegates from high schools in all 95 counties will participate Wednesday, May 25, in the SCALES Program, an acronym for the Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students. SCALES is a Tennessee Supreme Court initiative designed to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.
The 625 students will attend a special Supreme Court session at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville as part of the week-long Boys State program, sponsored by The American Legion. The 11th grade boys, who are in the top one-third of their high school classes, will hear oral arguments in two actual Supreme Court cases.
Circuit Court Judge John Maddux of Cookeville is coordinating the SCALES Project at Boys State. More than 14,699 students from 331 schools across the state have taken part in SCALES since the Supreme Court initiated it in 1995.
"It is important for these young leaders to fully understand the judicial system and its role in our society,” Chief Justice Frank Drowota said. “SCALES provides them with an opportunity to see the system first-hand.”
Issues in the cases students will hear at Boys State include whether a convenience store is liable because a clerk sold gasoline to an obviously intoxicated driver who then collided with and injured the plaintiffs in the case. In the other case, the court will consider whether a bail bond company assumed liability for a defendant’s fines and costs by posting his bond and whether the company was relieved from its obligations once the defendant pled guilty and was sentenced.
Each SCALES participant will receive a handbook containing information about the state and federal court systems and the two cases. In addition, Maddux and other lawyers and judges will conduct educational sessions with the students.