The 12 th annual Open Doors to Federal Courts national initiative is ready for use in courtrooms and classrooms. The annual program gives high school seniors a positive first exposure to jury service and motivates them to serve willingly when called. The theme is The First Amendment and Social Media: Student Rights, Wrongs, and Responsibilities. The strength of the program is that everyone has the opportunity to participate fully. Students apply a landmark Supreme Court case to a fictional scenario in which school administrators claim that members of an unauthorized vampire club broke school rules when they posted club news on the schools’ fan page.
Courtroom Program
The scenario stimulates lively courtroom arguments among the students, a host judge, and two volunteer attorney coaches. Students, selected by their teacher(s) in advance, use scripted talking points with prepared judge’s questions. The judge also asks spontaneous, follow-up questions to elicit the students’ opinions. All other students serve as jurors who actively deliberate in a virtual jury room in the gallery of the courtroom.
Ready-To-Use Materials
The program materials are posted on line for the courts and teachers at http://www.uscourts.gov/outreach/programs/opendoors.htm. Preparation for everyone involved requires no more than 30 minutes of reading in advance, plus the time allotted during the courtroom program itself. No additional research or reading is necessary. Courthouse coordinators bring together a judge, two volunteer attorneys, and a group of high school seniors, and the court has an educational outreach program.
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