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Field Trips to Supreme Court of Missouri provide insight to court process
Nothing evokes quite the same childhood glee as that famous announcement we likely all can recall: “Class, we will be going on a field trip.” Every year, thousands of students visit the Supreme Court of Missouri as a portion of their annual pilgrimage to Jefferson City. Often the teachers arrange a tour of the court to accompany visits to the capitol building and governor’s mansion, in an effort to let their students see the three branches of government first-hand.
First thing in the morning of May 14, 2014, fourth-grade students from Confluence Academy in north St. Louis visited the Court. The long drive and period of sitting on the bus appeared to add to the energy of the field trip. John Torbitzky, law clerk to Judge Zel Fischer, greeted the students in the lobby. “It’s really ‘goldy’ in here,” commented one student, craning her neck to see the decorative elements in the ceiling and on the tops of the columns.
Another source of fascination was the ornate hand-laid tile floor. “How many tiles are in the floor?” asked one student. The same energy fueling the questions also fueled the answers as Torbitzky asked the kids to guess things such as the age of the building and the role of the attorney general, whose office is housed in the building. Several of the students expressed a desire to become lawyers, and one stated that she already is saving for college.
The students’ eyes lit up as they were led through the stately robing room, where the judges prepare for arguments and meet afterward to discuss the cases around the large wooden conference table. The students admired the historical decorum and quietly considered the activities that take place in the room.
Once the students traveled through the robing room and settled into the courtroom, Torbitzky allowed them to ask questions. Their hands flew into the air for inquiries such as what it means for the court to be “in recess,” why some courts have only one judge while the state supreme court has seven and why the state seal hangs over the bench. Torbitzky talked about the evidence submitted in trial court proceedings as he explained that the Supreme Court only hears cases on appeal while the circuit courts gather physical evidence and hear testimony from witnesses.
While learning the story of the case of Old Drum, a hunting dog shot for attacking a neighbor’s sheep, the students froze and hung onto every word. A statue of the dog sits in tribute just outside the main courtroom among the portraits of past Supreme Court judges. Many students expressed sadness at the dog’s fate but were happy to hear justice was served by the Court as Old Drum’s owner won the proceeding. Glancing at the judges’ portraits hanging in the hallways, one student asked, “So is Judge Judy in this building?” Torbitzky explained that Judge Judy does not work for a state such as the judges in this building, so she has a different role from traditional court judges.
The students showed reverence in the library, recognizing the solemn nature of the expansive collection spanning two floors. They wandered the stacks, gawking at the numerous volumes. “How many people did it take to count all of these?” one asked. “Are these books all old?” questioned another. Following a few more questions and some basic facts about the books in the library, Torbitzky explained the Dred Scott artifacts housed in the glass cases and the importance of the case in Missouri history. The Dred Scott case is often cited as being the one event triggering our nation’s Civil War.
After the students had headed to their next destination, Torbitzky said, “Giving tours has been an unexpectedly rewarding part of my job. Tours, of course, give me an opportunity to show off our building, but they also give me an opportunity to talk to people about the Missouri courts and the function of courts in general. Hopefully, it teaches the visitors something they might not have known before they walked through those giant oak doors.”
For more information about the activities of the Supreme Court of Missouri’s Committee on Civic Education, please visit News & Media.
