Supreme Court Program

 

Schools can also send classes to visit the Vermont Supreme Court, where the students learn about the law and the legal system and experience first hand what it means to be lawyers and judges. Upon arrival at the Supreme Court building, the students are lead into the courtroom by a law clerk, who first explains all about the Vermont legal system: what the law is, how it is made, and what role different courts, including the Vermont Supreme Court, play in the legal system. The clerk then guides the students through a re-enactment of a case that was actually heard by the Vermont Supreme Court, with the students playing the roles of the lawyers, the parties, and the justices. The student-lawyers stand up and give oral arguments in front of the student-judges, who ask the student-lawyers questions and then decide which side has the strongest legal position. This program is offered to grades 6 and older.

Third and fourth graders are welcome to visit the Court. The program offered for younger children is not participatory, but an explanation of the Vermont legal system, while the students are in the Courtroom.