American Legion Boys State delegates from high schools in all 95 counties will participate May 28 in the SCALES Program, an acronym for the Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students. SCALES, a Tennessee Supreme Court initiative, educates young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.
The 630 students (Listed Here) will attend a special Supreme Court session at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville as part of the week-long Boys State program, sponsored by The American Legion. The 11th grade boys, who are in the top one-third of their high school classes, will hear oral arguments in two actual Supreme Court cases.
Circuit Court Judge John Maddux of Cookeville is coordinating the SCALES Project at Boys State. More than 11,000 Tennessee high school students have taken part in SCALES since the Supreme Court initiated it in 1995.
"The Tennessee Supreme Court believes that knowledge and understanding of the judicial branch of government are essential to good citizenship," Chief Justice Frank Drowota said. "The SCALES Project is designed to educate young participants about the system they will inherit."
Issues in the cases students will hear at Boys State include whether evidence - methamphetamine found in the door panels of a vehicle during a traffic stop - should be suppressed and whether a trial court can require a criminal defendant, as a condition of probation, to legally establish the father of her child. The participants will be divided into two groups, with each hearing one case.
In addition, Maddux and other lawyers and judges will conduct sessions with the students to explain the state and federal judicial systems, the issues in their cases and answer questions.