For about 32 years, the Colorado Court of Appeals has been bringing real court cases to high schools across the state. Thursday, they'll be at D'evelyn Junior/Senior High School in Jefferson County.
It's part of the Courts in the Community program to help students gain knowledge of the Colorado Judicial System and how disputes are resolved.
With this experience, students can “see the court system that is not told by social media,” said Jon Sarche, the court's deputy public information officer.
It's also an opportunity to learn about careers in the legal field. Students get to ask attorneys and judges questions, and some students get to eat lunch with a judge. If they enjoy watching these cases, students will know what to look forward to.
The most important thing Sarche wants students to learn is that “people can argue, but they can argue agreeably.” Personal attacks aren’t used and don't have to be.
“They can see people getting along even though they are arguing,” Sarche said.
Since the program has been running for decades now, Sarche isn't sure exactly how many schools they've been to. Sometimes, they revisit a school five or six years after the first visit.
“I think we have been close to 100 schools or over 100 schools,” he said. “We try to spread out geographically.”
Shemar Magee is Denverite's fall 2018 high school intern.
