TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Local middle school students are learning all about how the judicial system works in the courtroom.
500 eighth graders from Otter Creek, West Vigo and Sarah Scott Middle Schools observed and participated in mock trials.
They filled the Vigo County Courthouse to watch the judicial system in action.
It focused on a pretend defendent named Addysen Baker who was accused of stealing candy from a school vending machine.
The goal is to show how a jury trial is the cornerstone of the American justice system.
“I think it’s so important for people to know as a population what a real jury trial is. We should not know what we see onTV because that’s not real, so the point is to tell them, ‘hey, this is really real’,” says Tricia Rose Tanoos, the Mock Trial Challenge Committee Chairperson.
Over 100 volunteers made the event possible. Among them were judges, court staff, attorneys and ISU students.
Attornies have also been visiting the local middle schools to teach them more about the justice system.
