Students Get Firsthand Look at Legal System

As an aspiring lawyer and a student in the Youth and the Law class at Fulton Middle School in Van Nuys, Danish (Danny) Aftab, 15, watches a lot of televised court cases. But he never really thought about where the jury goes after closing arguments.

“You know, the commercials come on, and all of a sudden, the jury’s back with a verdict,” Danny said.

On Tuesday, Danny and nine classmates inspected the interior of a real jury room at the Los Angeles Municipal Court building in Van Nuys as part of Law Day U.S.A.. “I didn’t realize they had their own rooms,” he said.

Law Day was designated by Congress in 1961 to raise public awareness of the U. S. justice system. On Tuesday, judges across the county closed their courtrooms, held mock trials and ushered students into their book-lined chambers for discussions.

Defense attorneys and deputy district attorneys stopped arguing and teamed up to explain the legal system. And armed bailiffs conducted tours of cheerless concrete-and-steel holding cells.

Inside Division 107 at the Van Nuys Municipal Court building, Judge Robert Wallerstein introduced the students to prosecution and defense attorneys, who explained the difference between civil and criminal cases.

“Who knows who Marcia Clark is?” asked Deputy City Atty. Jeff Harkavy. “Well, I’m like Marcia Clark. We represent the people. We prosecute people for charges such as drunk driving, narcotics, weapons, theft, insurance and fraud.”

Then, Deputy Public Defender Thomas Summers explained his role.

“I represent people accused of a crime who cannot afford their own lawyer. The founders of the Constitution decided it wouldn’t be fair to lock someone up” unless he had a proper defense, Summers explained.

The students then conducted a brief mock trial under the supervision of Judge Jessica Perrin Silvers, and later filed into Wallerstein’s chambers for a question-and-answer session.

Robert Franklin, a teacher’s aide with the class, asked the judge if the stress of the job ever gets to him. “Yes, it happens quite often,” Wallerstein said. “Our decisions mean someone might have to go to jail. Or, we could be deciding that someone will have to pay a lot of money. It’s a good job, a wonderful job, but it’s tough.”

The students, who volunteered to go on the field trip, said the experience was enlightening, and several inquired about part-time jobs in the court system.