COUNTYWIDE : Student’s Concerns Lead to ‘Hung Jury’

The prosecution had built a strong case against the young woman accused of car theft. When the jury began its deliberations, 11 quick votes were cast for conviction.

But one juror wasn’t convinced. Katie Huso had questions about a key element of the prosecution’s case. The deliberations grew clamorous, and the pressure from her peers was intense. But Katie would not yield.

It was not a real courtroom drama, but it was real enough for Katie and other fifth- and sixth-graders from Community Christian School in Oxnard. The students acted out the trial during a recent tour of the Ventura County Courthouse.

The mock trial is the centerpiece of a program for an estimated 4,500 students who visit the halls of justice every year, said JoAnn LaRochelle, tour organizer for the Ventura County Legal Guild.

On most weekday mornings, students from schools throughout Ventura County peer into the law library, take a seat in the jury assembly room and, as court dockets permit, watch a real trial.

“The purpose of the tour is to help correct the misconceptions many children have about our system of justice,” LaRochelle said.

During the tour, bailiff Jeffrey Lawrence explained his role as the courtroom traffic cop. After the children watched part of a drunk-driving trial, Judge Barry B. Klopfer adjourned for lunch and answered questions.

The tours are generally restricted to sixth-, eighth- and 12th-grade students who study the justice system in civics, LaRochelle said.

“It really helps the students when they can witness the steps of our justice system, which they have learned about in their social studies class,” teacher Bobbie Wilson said.

During the mock trial, students sat behind the real bench and in the jury box. The student judge donned a robe and each witness was sworn in.

The scripted case involved a young woman who had been pulled over while driving a stolen car. She contended she had been hitchhiking when she was picked up by a man who told her the car was stolen. He abandoned her and the vehicle on the freeway, she said.

The defendant testified she was trying to deliver the car to police. The prosecutor, however, said she had taken the car from a residence in Ventura so she could drive to Santa Barbara.

Eleven jurors believed the defendant was guilty. But Katie was not convinced and said the prosecutor did not say how the woman got the car keys. It was enough doubt to cause her to withhold her vote for conviction, and the judge declared a hung jury.

While the facts and the testimony of the mock trials are scripted, the jury deliberations are not, LaRochelle said.

“Children often think the most important person in the courtroom is the judge,” she said. “They need to know the responsibility of the jury and the important decisions they have to make.”

Just ask Katie Huso.