Students silently sit listening to the defendant question a witness and observe the jury as they jot down notes during a live court case, Oct. 19. The FC Civics classes travelled to the Fresno Superior Court, located in Downtown Fresno, to get a glimpse into the judicial system and personally experience the setting of a real-life case.
During their time at the courthouse, Civics teachers Robert Foshee and Jordana Siebert arranged for the students to sit-in on three court cases.
“I think the benefit of taking both civis classes to the courthouse is that they can see a real-life prosecutors and attorneys,” Siebert said. “It’s was really great because we actually got to see a jury. A small group of us also got to talk to a judge. The judge, Petrucelli, really broke it down for the students about what the law is. He is so passionate about the law and the rights we have. It was a little more personalized, and he made it more human.”
Both classes went to the first case, in which Honorable Gary D. Hoff presided. While most of the students attended their second court case after the first together, 10 students were selected to go to a murder trial under Honorable James M. Petrucelli.
Senior Ian Rustigian was one of the 10 students who witnessed the murder trial. He enjoyed listening to how Petrucelli became a judge and what his daily job entails.
“It was really fun because he was opening up to us and he told us about how he became a judge,” Rustigian said. “He talked about what the law is all about and about the different court cases going on. We actually got to see how the courts take place and how the trials go on. We got to see quite a bit of different cases which was surprising.”
These 10 students went through an additional security screening before entering the courtroom, and after listening to part of the case, were invited to go into Honorable Petrucelli’s chambers for a personal interview time. During this time, Petrucelli explained the logistics of handling cases, and how he made his way into becoming a judge.
Being on the bench for fourteen years, Petrucelli has held many position within the law, including ten years as a lawyer and fifteen years as a deputy sheriff. He graduated from the four-year law night school at San Joaquin College of Law, which he attended four nights a week, from 6 p.m.-10 p.m..
During the last part of their time at the courthouse, three deputy sheriffs gave a presentation on their jobs and the things they often come across throughout in their work. For part of the presentation, senior McKay Mohun volunteered to wear a jumpsuit and be arrested. The sheriffs also showed the classes some of the hidden weapons that people create with items such as hairbrushes and walking canes.
Throughout the duration of the visit, the students were able to gain a better view of what really goes on in a courthouse. According to senior Briana Graff, the experience was enlightening, as well as engaging.
“We got to actually see exactly what happens inside a courthouse and how easy it is for people to sneak weapons in,” Graff said. “We also got to see the defendant in a case, who’s who in a case, how a jury has to watch, and all the rules of putting someone in jail or investigating a crime.
Not only did the courthouse trip allow a peak into the court system, it also gave the classes a chance to enjoy themselves together and as a school, Graff said.
“As a school and a class, I think it was a good experience because we were all there together,” Graff said. “It kind of puts our name out there as well, and it was actually just fun going to the courthouse on a bus all together.”
Along with getting to go outside of the normal classroom setting, junior Aaron Ward found the experience to be eye-opening in that it did not match up with his initial thoughts.
“I thought it was pretty fun going on the bus ride there and coming back because we got to go doing something other than sitting in a classroom,” Ward said. “It was cool to see the whole judicial system and how everything works. I thought it was interesting because the court was different than how I pictured it. It was a little more bureaucratic than I expected a court to be; it was more manufactured in the process of how they went through things and more simple than I thought it would be.”
Siebert believes the experience prepared students for their upcoming project where they will run mock trials of their own.
“It’s really great that they got to see a jury,” Siebert said. “We are doing mock trials in both classes so the fact that they got to see that before they start their own trials is really going to help them to understand their projects better.”
For more features, read the Oct. 17 article, Sophomores construct ‘Wizard of Oz’ float.
