VAN NUYS : Fairy Tale Trial Makes Case for Legal System

It was a case worthy of “L.A. Law: The Next Generation.”

Sitting at the defense table was a nervous-looking Jack Spratt--eater of no fat and famed for his adventures with a handful of magical legumes and a towering beanstalk.

At the prosecutor’s table was the victim--Morris Atlas, the Giant.

The charges were serious: attempted murder of the Giant and theft of Goldie, the goose, which in a ‘90s twist forgoes golden eggs in favor of cholesterol-lowering ones.

For a few hours Wednesday, the auditorium of Laurence 2000 Private Elementary School in Van Nuys was scene to a class project come to life. The Kids Court class, taught by teacher and lawyer Lauren Jacobson Wolke every Friday, scripted and acted out a fairy tale trial.

“The class teaches them both creative and critical thinking,” said Wolke, who has been teaching Kids Court for four years.

The Kids Court participants got a real taste of the workings of the legal system, as Federal District Court Magistrate Stephen Hillman, a parent of one of the kids at Laurence 2000, selected the members of the jury for the trial. The jury had not been involved in preparing the case and was asked to determine Jack Spratt’s fate, the only part of the case that was not scripted.

The drama unfolded with witness “Arnold Ziffle”--an egg expert portrayed by 10-year-old Jordan Kramer, who demonstrated how Goldie’s cholesterol-lowering eggs differed from normal eggs. When put in water, the normal egg sunk, while the cholesterol-lowering eggs floated.

The eggs in question had brought the giant a fortune of roughly $200 million (Mr. Atlas wasn’t sure on that figure; he needed to check with his accountant).

Jack’s defense was complicated. He maintained the goose was genetically engineered by his late father and then stolen by the Giant. He had only stolen back what was rightfully his, he said.

As for the Giant falling from the beanstalk--clearly self-defense, argued Jack.

After minutes and minutes of deliberations, the jury returned to the court to present its findings. It was a hung jury.

While that was an unsatisfactory decision for some, the project has left its mark on the participants.

The prosecuting attorney, 11-year-old Bradley Dickter, has decided he wants to practice law when he grows up. Dickter attributes this to the experience of playing Peter Pan in last year’s trial: the case of the County of Neverland vs. Peter Pan. He was found guilty (wrongfully, he insists) of the murder of Captain Hook. He has since vowed, “I’m going to be a district attorney to fight injustice.”