Courthouse Talk

On Wednesday, March 7, Jim Haddox took his AP and Dual Credit Government students to the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Downtown Dallas to witness a trial. Students were required to dress professionally and take notes over their cases. The purpose of the trip was to learn more about the Texas courts system and the proceeding of a real trial.

Haddox’s B6 class was assigned to an assault/family violence case with Judge Shaquitta Kelly.

“Judge Kelly was amazing,” senior Tayzia Hopkins said. “Court cases tend to be boring with a bunch of talking, but she made it interesting and found ways to make light of the situation. She also did a really thorough job of explaining the phases in a trial.”

There was a variety of cases assigned to each class; Haddox’s A4 class witnessed a DWI trial. Due to the lack of time, students were not able to see the entire trial start to finish.

“I was bummed out that we couldn’t stay to find out the outcome of the defendant,” senior Summer Johnson said. “We only had time to see the voir dire, which is basically questioning jurors and narrowing down the jury to 12, which isn’t the most exciting thing to watch.”

Haddox’s students walked away from this field trip with more knowledge and insight on how government works.

“This was a good way to give insight: to watch what happens in a criminal trial, and to see what we can expect if we get chosen for jury duty one day,” Johnson said.