51st JAG lays down the law

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Michael Battles
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  The 51st Fighter Wing Staff Judge Advocate Office hosted approximately 30 students from Osan Middle School May 1, 2012 to celebrate Law Day.

51st JAG assisted students of the sixth grade OMS social studies class through a mock trial case "The stolen car."

During the mock trail students played all aspects of courtroom proceedings including the judge, clerk, jury, witnesses, defense and prosecuting attorneys as well as the accused.

Law Day gives students an educational view of each role that is played within a courtroom, said Capt. Matthew Ramage-White, 51st FW assistant judge advocate.

Throughout the trial, students were responsible for maintaining the proceedings of the courtroom by providing evidence to the court, cross examining witnesses of the crime, deliberating, and ultimately deciding the innocence or guilt of the accused.

"I have done this type of mock trial with children before," Ramage-White said. "Usually we do more silly ones, the case of the "Big Bad Wolf" or the "Three Little Pigs," or "Little Red Riding Hood." This is kind of a fun one, because it's more realistic. With the older kids, it gives them a chance to see what it really might be like in court."

The experience gave the class a better understanding of the legal system, said Sun Hee Maxfield, a 12- year-old student at OSM.

"Actually doing (the trial) myself gave me experience," she said. "In a way, it helped me understand the information better and how to properly present information in a professional way."

After the hour-long court proceeding, the jury was undecided on a verdict for the accused and a hung jury was declared.

"It's just fun to work with the kids, and it's fun to see their thought processes," Ramage-White said. "Hopefully we've got a few kids here who will remember this later on in life and decide 'I want to be a lawyer and defend the Constitution.' More importantly these children are going to sit on a panel someday and they're going to say 'Oh, I remember I did this before, and I remember that I really need to have this type of discussion or focus to hopefully reach the truth."

In 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower established the first Law Day. Congress officially issued a joint resolution in 1961 designating May 1 as the official date.

Every year, legal officials have used Law Day as an opportunity to educate the community on the legal system, courtroom and how the law is used to protect Constitutional rights.

This year's Law Day theme was "No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom."