On a brisk October morning, Mr. Vukich’s law class and some select students who were interested in pursuing the field of law embarked on a field trip to view a case in front of the Michigan Supreme Court.
The case that the class was able to witness a criminal case. A mother was being charged with the murder of her infant child who was left in the care of her boyfriend who was a minor at the time. This case was being heard by the Michigan Supreme Court because it had previously been appealed multiple times.
“My favorite part of this field trip was being able to witness an actual case and to be able to see how different it is from how court cases are portrayed in television or movies,” Jenn Knost ‘16 recalls.
“I really enjoyed at the end of the trip when the audience was able to ask the attorneys questions,” Emily Schulte ‘15 adds.
Once the trial concluded, the attorneys and a moderator allowed time for a Q & A segment where eager students were able to ask questions pertaining to views on the trial and following the law pathway.
With every high to a trip there must be a low. “My least favorite part was not being able to hear the final ruling! Which makes sense because the Supreme Court doesn’t make a decision immediately after the case,” Knost says about the case.
Similar to Jenn’s answer, “My least favorite part was not being able to find out the end, even though we should have known we wouldn’t get one,” Schulte agrees.
This experience was able to convert someone who wasn’t particularly interested in pursuing law into who now is. “I learned so much about the legal system and I’m eager to expand my knowledge because this field trip definitely sparked my interest!” Schulte says.
“After this trip I’m no longer interested in being a defense attorney because I see how much patience and attention to details it requires. I would much rather be a judge because you are able to hear cases and decide what is right or wrong by observing,” Kaitlin Barber ‘16 adds.
Although this field trip left many students unhappy with a cliffhanger on the final results of the case it was obvious to see that it was informative and sparked interest in law for several students.
No responses yet