LYNNWOOD – There were giggles aplenty, then squeals of delight when children came up with the correct answers.
Of course, the “ooohs” and “aaahs” echoed through a courtroom when a cuddly police dog entered from behind a closed door.
It was not business as usual Friday in South Division of Snohomish County District Court. Some 700 fifth-graders paraded through the courthouse for a number of hands-on exercises intended as memorable civics lessons.
“The value is to let fifth-graders have information in an exciting way,” Judge Timothy Ryan said. “Hopefully they leave with a better understanding of our justice system.”
The event was the annual Law Day activity sponsored by the court. Most of the children were from the Edmonds School District. A handful came from Everett.
Normal court activities ground to a halt through most of the day as four courtrooms filled up with children and their teachers.
Among other things, groups participated in mock trials.
Some groups convicted a make-believe defendant of shoplifting. Some voted for acquittal.
Lynnwood lawyer Paul Hanson has volunteered to coordinate the Law Day mock trial at the court for the last 21 years. He used numerous volunteers who advised young participants on what to do and when to talk while they followed a script.
In a reversal of normal roles, deputy prosecutors often sat on the defendant’s side of the table. Public defenders sat on the prosecutor’s side.
For Hanson, “it’s just a labor of love,” he said. “It’s my way of doing something for the kids.”
Along the way, the children frequently had time to ask questions such as, “What does the judge really wear under the long black robe?”
Sometimes kids volunteer that they have been at the court before with a parent to pay a speeding ticket, or because dad got a drunken-driving charge at the court, Hanson said.Students from Lynndale Elementary School got to spend some time with Mountlake Terrace officer Scott King and his black Labrador retriever, Hunter.
The children were delighted with a demonstration of how Hunter sniffs out marijuana, and then got a bang out of Washington State Patrol trooper Dave Edwards strutting the sniffing prowess of his springer spaniel pup, Moose.
There was a traffic safety talk, complete with children using goggles to disorient themselves while they tried to walk in a straight line, mimicking the field sobriety test police sometimes use on suspected drunken drivers.
In another courtroom, a brother-and-sister team – Lake Stevens Detective Julie Jamison and Lynnwood Detective Greg Jamison – played a game of Law Day Jeopardy.
There, the kids got to answer questions about the Internet, self-esteem, drugs and the law. They even got to loudly hum the theme song to television’s “Jeopardy” game show.
Lawyer Hanson said the sessions give the children insight into basic police work and how the justice system functions. What’s more, the program is a fundamental civics lesson “and it’s doing it in a fun way,” he said.
The event was a hit for Lynndale teacher Pam Espinosa and her class, she said.
“It brings the students into another environment and reinforces what they learn in the classroom about their community and civics,” Espinosa said. “This is a valuable experience because they’re not reading about police in a book. They’re in a courtroom with police officers, judges and lawyers. It’s live and in person.”
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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