Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students (SCALES)

SCALES stands for Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students.

The Tennessee Supreme Court created this program to help students learn about the legal system. Students get to witness oral arguments for actual Supreme Court cases in their communities. Since its inception in 1995, the SCALES project has benefited over 41,000 Tennessee students from over 560 high schools.

Before the students hear the case, their teachers go to a class to get information about the state and federal court systems, as well as the cases that will be heard. The teachers then teach the students about the legal system and the case. The students also get information from judges and lawyers who go to their classrooms to talk to them.

When the case is argued, the Tennessee Supreme Court justices sit at a bench that is brought and made especially for the SCALES program.  Students are divided into groups and hear the lawyers argue their case before the justices. After they are done, the students meet with the lawyers and discuss the case. The students later receive copies of the Supreme Court opinion on their case.

See photos from previous SCALES events here.