NCJ Number
133224
Journal
Court Manager Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1991) Pages: 26-27
Date Published
1991
Length
2 pages
Annotation
The Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, has chosen law-related education as its approach to improving the public's understanding and perception of the court system.
Abstract
An educational program for elementary school students was first developed because research indicates the greatest need for legal education is at that level. The elementary program is based on "fairy trials" adapted from classic children's stories such as Rumplestiltskin and Hansel and Gretel. Educational theater presentations are performed for elementary school children throughout Cook County by professional actors. The children are challenged to deal with moral issues, and the entire student audience is sworn in as a jury and asked to reach a verdict at the conclusion of the play. More than 50,000 students have participated in the program over the past 3 years, and the circuit court is inundated with request for program implementation nationwide. Adolescents are targeted by an educational theater project known as "Project Inside Out." This project allows students to experience what it is like to be in jail, on the inside looking out. The circuit court has also cosponsored the Chicago Coalition for Law-Related Education Trial Advocacy Project since 1986. The coalition is a joint education partnership of the court, the Chicago Bar Association, the John Marshall Law School, and the board of education designed to provide a comprehensive law-related education program for Chicago's high school youth. The project involves a mock trial competition open to all Chicago public school children and depends on the annual participation of 300 volunteer lawyers, 200 volunteer judges, and 200 educators.