High school students from Rutherford, Cannon and Bedford counties will hear three actual Supreme Court cases, including a death penalty appeal, as participants in a program designed to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.
The 600 students and their teachers from 12 public and private schools will attend a special Supreme Court session Oct. 3 at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. Students will be divided into three groups, with each hearing oral arguments before the Supreme Court in one case. Each group will then meet for question and answer sessions with the prosecuting and defense attorneys who argued the case the students heard.
All SCALES participants and their teachers will join the court for lunch and a brief program. Supreme Court justices, local judges, attorneys, city, county and school officials also will be seated at tables with the students.
Schools participating in SCALES - an acronym for the Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students – are Riverdale, Oakland, Eagleville, Siegal, Holloway, Smyrna, Cannon County, LaVergne and Blackman high schools; Middle Tennessee Christian and Franklin Road academies; and The Webb School.
Cases students will hear include State v. Daryl Keith Holton, an appeal in a Bedford County death penalty case. Holton, a Shelbyville man, received four death sentences for murdering his children. Issues being considered by the court include whether the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions for first-degree murder; whether the state’s insanity defense violates due process in a premeditated murder case; whether there was sufficient “residual doubt” to warrant a lesser sentence; whether the sentence of death in his case was appropriate; and whether capital punishment violates the Constitution.
Issues in Ronald G. Moore v. Averitt Express, Inc., also to be heard by students, are whether it is illegal to fire someone because they have uncovered illegal activity and whether the firing was illegal because he disclosed an illegal activity before he was hired. Students also will hear arguments in Sally Qualls Mercer v. Vanderbilt University, Inc., in which issues are whether the permanent brain injury suffered by Larry Qualls was separate from injuries he sustained in an accident; whether the law allows a witness to testify about the cost of an annuity that would cover future medical expenses; whether the trial judge was correct in keeping two witnesses from testifying; and whether the trial court should have allowed evidence about Mr. Quall’s prior alcohol-related problems.
Including SCALES in the 16th Judicial District, more than 11,000 Tennessee students across the state have taken part in the project since the Supreme Court initiated it in 1995. The first 0f 21 SCALES projects was conducted in Murfreesboro.
Teachers whose classes are involved in SCALES will attend a three-hour professional development session Sept. 4 at the Rutherford County School Board Teacher Learning Center. Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Joe Riley will discuss the state and federal court systems, answer questions and present an overview of the cases to be argued at SCALES. Teachers will be provided with notebooks of materials to use in their classrooms, including suggested activities, and SCALES Project handbooks for each student. Circuit Court Judge Steve Daniel is coordinating the project in the 16th Judicial District.
"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. The interaction we have with the students at lunch and throughout the day also renews our faith that our nation’s future is in good hands.”
Local judges and attorneys will meet with participating teachers at the professional development session to schedule classroom visits to review the cases and issues to be considered by the Supreme Court. After justices rule in the cases, copies of the court's opinions will be provided to the classes and posted on the court system website at www.tsc.state.tn.us.
"The SCALES Project is important because it creates a partnership between the judiciary, the Bar and schools to promote a better understanding of the judicial branch of government," the chief justice said. "We hope that teachers will use the materials to make judicial education a continuing part of their curriculum."