Make Believe With Meaning: Indiana Law's Outreach for Legal Literacy
"Oye Oye, all rise," recites a miniature baliff in a green suit coat. She was one of about 30 students who visited Indiana Law last spring to take part in the make-believe trial of Calvin the Supergenius v. Susie Derkins. Susie allegedly hatched a "diabolical plot" to pummel Calvin with a slush ball, resulting in injuries and blood stains in Calvin's mother's car.
Each year, fifth-graders, aided by Outreach for Legal Literacy volunteers, argue this case. The 10 and 11 year old attorneys, witnesses, baliff, and jury file into the Law School's Trial Court Room in suit coats and tennis shoes, armed with a school year's worth of legal know-how. Jeff Peabody and Dean Snyder, both now third-year students at Indiana Law, worked this trial with Laura Herschberger's University School fifth-graders.
The program brings law students to some 12 classrooms around the city.. According to Peabody, most kids only experience the law through television or what they hear adults talking about, so very few actually understand courtroom proceedings and the fundamentals of law. The teaching methods emphasize active learning, often beginning with a short skit to introduce topics ranging from the Fourth Amendment to Dispute Resolution.
"We can't teach them all of the fundamentals of the law, but, hopefully, we can teach them to be interested in it," Peabody says. "There are a variety of skill levels, but nine times out of 10, the kids come up with amazing ideas without any prodding."
Since Professor Aviva Orenstein started OLL in 1994, more than 100 law students have taught in Bloomington elementary schools including Binford, Clear Creek, University, Templeton, Fairview, and Marlin. This time, the verdict went to the plaintiff. But who knows what's in store for Calvin the Supergenius next time around.