Government Students Witness Court of Appeals in Action
Is a flare gun a firearm? Did Nike’s contract with a professional football player require the company to automatically renew his endorsement deal? Was an accomplice in a drive-by shooting also guilty of attempted murder for someone accidentally shot in the incident?
These were the thorny legal questions attorneys argued before a three-judge panel of the Oregon Court of Appeals on May 21. But it wasn’t a typical oral argument inside a courtroom — the venue was the McMinnville Community Center, where about 100 McMinnville High School students witnessed the critical role of the courts in protecting people’s rights.
The event was one of several the Court of Appeals has hosted in the past year at schools across the state. The purpose: to give young people a firsthand look at how courts enforce the rule of law and the importance of the judicial branch of government.
After Judges Scott Shorr, Steven R. Powers, and Ryan O’Connor heard the oral arguments, they and the attorneys answered questions from the students. Later, the judges also visited a classroom to give students the chance to ask more questions in an informal setting.
With the visit happening only two days after the May primary election, civic engagement seemed to be on the minds of the students and the judges.
“A number of people don’t understand that there are three branches of government or understand their responsibility to show up for jury duty, or they don’t vote,” Judge Powers told the students. “I’m glad that you’re here, you’re listening, you’re engaging, and hopefully you’ll remember that when you have the opportunity to vote.”
Karli Olsen, who teaches U.S. government and civics at the high school, said the event brought to life the ideas her students had been learning in the classroom.
“The series of abstract concepts that we teach to students about the branches of government and the principles of the Constitution are made real by this event,” Olsen said. “The students get to be engaging in critical thinking about what the things they’ve learned in the classroom look like in real life and in our society.”
Her history and government teaching colleague, Erin Brisbin, agreed. Brisbin also hoped her students would be inspired by all the legal professionals they watched in action.
“It’s really important to be able to see judges and lawyers as humans and to be able to see themselves in that, so that they will potentially consider that career route as well,” Brisbin said. “We’re really grateful that the court was able to come here and give us this opportunity.”