VIRGINIA—Students at Rock Ridge High School had an opportunity on Thursday to experience the Minnesota Justice System at work right in their school.
A traveling court brought Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, Associate Justice Anne McKeig, Associate Justice Paul Thissen, Associate Justice Gordon Moore, III, Associate Justice Karl Procaccini, Associate Justice Sarah Hennesy, and Associate Justice Theodora Gaïtas to Rock Ridge as part of a longstanding outreach program that teaches students about the Minnesota Justice System.
The justices chose the case, State of Minnesota v. Hames TrifIvan Contreras-Sanchez, because they thought students would understand and resonate with arguments from the appellate attorneys, which centered around geofencing cell phone data, according to a news release.
“The Supreme Court Traveling Oral Arguments program is one of the highlights of the year for justices—we love meeting students and introducing them to how the Court works,” said Minnesota Chief Justice Natalie Hudson in a news release. “The students always have excellent questions about the court system and often impress us with their insight.”
Sixth District Court Judge Rachel Sullivan served as emcee for the event, and in her introduction provided students some insight on the 150-year-old court system in the State of Minnesota and how cases make their way through the system to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Sullivan also provided some background on the case and a few key items to pay attention to during oral arguments.
Assistant Public Defender Jennifer Workman presented arguments for the defense, and Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Adam Petras, for the state. Justice Gaïtas recused herself from the matter, and after oral arguments concluded, joined her colleagues to field questions from students.
Students were not shy and eagerly lined up to take their turn asking questions, ranging from the challenges facing the Minnesota Judiciary in the coming years and how the court can address those challenges; the process that goes into overturning decisions; skills from high school that helped prepare for their current profession; work-life balance, and more.
“After a particularly serious question about how the court approaches overturning its previous decisions, Justice Sarah Hennesy quipped, ‘wow, I feel like I’m being interviewed by the governor all over again,”’ as quoted in the news release.
Aimee Krebs, a social studies and history teacher at Rock Ridge, said her ninth grade class is currently studying the Minnesota Judicial System.
“One of the Justices is slated to come in and talk with this class,” Krebs told the Mesabi Tribune via email prior to the session on Thursday. “Hopefully, they will have a better understanding of the job and responsibilities of the judicial branch.”
In preparation for the Court’s visit, Krebs said her two ninth grade social studies classes and three 10th grade world history classes, reviewed the structure of the Minnesota Court System and the rights of the accused, under Amendments 4-6.
Two local attorneys briefed Kreb’s students about the case being featured at oral arguments, and they reviewed courtroom conduct, Krebs said.
Steph Lutzka, a social studies teacher at Rock Ridge, shared her thoughts the unique experience for Rock Ridge students
“I feel like this is an incredible opportunity and honor for our students,” Lutzka said prior to the event. “Getting to be a part of a live and pivotal case and seeing our justice system in action is truly an instance of bringing learning to life. It doesn’t even compare to learning about government from a textbook or even in a classroom. As much as we teachers try to teach our content in fun and interesting ways, you can’t beat this.”
“Our students are super interested and will certainly be impacted by this event,” Lutzka added. “Also, outside of the actual hearing, our students get a lot of interaction time with the Justices.”
The oral arguments were live streamed, providing a learning opportunity for broadcasting students, Lutzka noted. Eighty-seven people viewed the event, according to a count displayed on the link during the broadcast.
Justices were treated to a lunch prepared by family and consumer science students, then they broke off into classrooms to speak with the students in a more informal manner.
The evening before oral arguments, the justices hosted a community dinner with Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Tribal judges that featured performances by the Rock Ridge High School orchestra and Night Sky Drum.
The Minnesota Supreme Court Traveling Oral Arguments program began in 1995 to educate students and build public trust, confidence, and understanding of the judiciary. The Court travels to two high schools in Minnesota each year: one in the spring and one in the fall. The fall visit includes a community dinner. The Iron Range event marks the 55th traveling oral arguments event for the Court.
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