On December 16, 2007, Professor Dona Playton and students Jeremy Kisling, Maxine LaBarre-Krostue, Pamela Salapich, and Amy Smith volunteered as judges of mock trials for three American History and Government classes at the UW Lab School. Forty-five Lab School students participated under the supervision of teachers Meredith McLaughlin, Tim Blum, and Cynthia Webb.

The students acted as attorneys, witnesses, and judges in the case of United States v. Carnegie. The purpose of the trials, explained teacher Meredith McLaughlin, was to “seek authentic means of assessing the student-learning in order to make the work students do more real and important."

"We wanted students to understand how the Industrial Revolution changed the course of American business, economics and ethics," says McLaughlin. "We could lecture, use video, and have students read. But if we just stopped there, students would not get the in-depth and life-long understanding of the rise of industrial-based capitalism that they attained by focusing on the ethics of Andrew Carnegie and the Homestead Strike."

McLaughlin went on to say that, "Because the course is American History and Government, we try to continuously link history to civics, thus the idea of a mock federal court trial that would require students to delve into the US Constitution and court precedent to make their arguments.”

Jeremy, Maxine, Pam, and Amy gave the middle-schoolers a brief lesson in courtroom etiquette and procedure before the trials started, then sat back and heard the arguments and testimony. After both sides rested their cases, verdicts were rendered and explained. Both law and lab students alike had a great time and learned a lot!

 

Amy E. Smith, Jeremy Kisling, Maxine LaBarre-Krostue, Pamela Salapich are all third-year law student who participate in clinics at the UW College of Law. Amy Smith is the Student Director of the Domestic Violence Legal Assistance Project. Jeremy Kisling serves as the Student Director of the Legal Services Program. Dona Playton is the Faculty Supervisor of the DV Legal Assistance Project.