Los Angeles Municipal Court Contact: Marcia Skolnik, Director, Public Affairs Los Angeles Municipal Court 110 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012 E-mail: mskolnik@co.la.ca.us Activity Summary: The Los Angeles Municipal Court arranged to have traffic and small claims trials held in two local schools. The purpose, to educate young people about the justice system and help them understand their rights and how the law protects those rights. The cases were heard in two diverse sections of the community at schools in South Central L.A. and the San Fernando Valley. Activity Narrative: In keeping with this year's theme, The Los Angeles Municipal Court (LAMC) chose to show students how the law protects them and their freedom in the most basic of court processes - traffic infraction trials and small claims cases. Most people's exposure to the court system is through one of these proceedings and this provided an excellent opportunity to show how the law impacts our daily lives. LAMC arranged to have several traffic and small claims court trials held in two local high schools. Since any public place can be designated as a courtroom by the Court's Presiding Judge, the locations were selected to allow the students to see a real court session conducted at their schools. The two schools chosen for the on-site trials were Jefferson High School and James Monroe High School. Both school administrations were supportive and very helpful in planning the programs. The schools were chosen to give two very diverse communities in Los Angeles County the opportunity to participate in the program. Small claims cases were heard at James Monroe High School on Thursday, May 1. LAMC Presiding Judge Mel Red Recana explained why the Court chose to do small claims and traffic cases at the schools. "Most people come into contact with the court system through one of two court processes - a small claims case or a traffic ticket. This program will help students learn about a fundamental process that can and probably will at some time impact their lives." Jefferson High School - April 30, 1997 Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Anthony Mohr conducted small claims trials before 200 seniors in the school's auditorium. The cases were randomly selected from small claims cases which had been filed with the Court. Plaintiffs and defendants in the actions received a letter from the presiding judge notifying them that the trials would be held on the school campus. None of the parties contested the alternative location; if they had the court would have rescheduled the cases for the courthouse at a later date. Judge Mohr and Judges Tricia Bigelow and Craig Veals conducted a mock trial after the real cases. This was designed to help students understand one of their most important constitutional rights - the right to trial. The mock small claims case involved a band that played at a fictitious high school prom which did not fulfill the contractual expectations of the students. James Monroe High School - May 1, 1997 Traffic ticket trials were heard in a classroom of James Monroe High School in North Hills. The on-campus courtroom is part of the school's Law and Government Magnet Program. More than 100 students attended. This was the first and only time that traffic cases have been processed outside the courthouse. Los Angeles Municipal Court Judges Tricia Bigelow and Anthony Mohr took turns hearing the cases. Two Los Angeles Police Department traffic officers and seven citizens who were cited by the officers were present to argue their cases before the Judge and the Magnet students. As with the small claims cases the previous day, a mock trial was conducted after the real cases. Judge Bigelow facilitated this event. The mock traffic cases involved hypothetical cases of speeding and running a stop sign. Conclusion In addition to the Judges, court clerks and bailiffs were also present to assist with the on-campus trials. It should also be noted that the deputy sheriff, court clerk and the two traffic officers played an integral role in the learning experience for the students. Before and during the mock trials, they coached the students on how to best perform their parts in the mock trial. Because traffic ticket trials are assigned to the court on a matrix system based on the availability of the officers, this part of the project was difficult to coordinate. It should be noted that in addition to the support received from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, that the Los Angeles Police Department was very cooperative in organizing this event. This program is easily replicated in any jurisdiction through cooperation among justice agencies who see the value of helping young people understand that each of them has an ongoing relationship to law and the justice system. Through this initial program, LAMC has established a common interest with other local justice agencies to educate our youth about their courts and how they impact their most basic freedoms. Sample Programs Home | By Audience | By Location | By Sponsoring Organization