A Judicial Lesson

The scene: A trial unfolding inside an East Los Angeles municipal courtroom.

The defendant: A fifth-grader named Albert who was showing off what he thought was a fake gun to his friends at school. He fired the gun, a real bullet ricocheted off the wall and superficially wounded a student. The boy said he didn’t intend to hurt anyone.

The trial proceeded with all the formalities of an official case, except for a few important details.

The presiding judge was curly haired, 10-year-old Donna Cervantes. The evidence was a toy gun in a sealed sandwich bag. The witnesses giggled occasionally and their teacher had to hush them. And, the jurors were 12 attentive fifth-graders ready to return a verdict.

The mock trial, staged inside a real courtroom by a class at Rowan Avenue Elementary School, is one component in what educators say is one of the most intensive and comprehensive law-related programs for youngsters in the country.

Through Project L.E.A.D. (Legal Enrichment and Decision-making) deputy district attorneys adopt a school for 30 weeks to teach fifth-graders about the criminal justice system. Last year, 68 attorneys and 26 schools participated.

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The project more than doubled this year to include 65 schools and 150 attorneys. Attorneys volunteer about six hours a month to talk to students about law enforcement jobs, conflict resolution and self-esteem. The lessons include workbook assignments, role-playing activities and field trips to a courthouse and a California Youth Authority facility.

Parents also have the opportunity to attend weekly three-hour sessions to learn about various issues affecting their children, including how to monitor their academic performance, detect indications of gang involvement and instill discipline.

Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti--who modeled the program after a similar one in Brooklyn, N.Y., and launched it in 1993--said it is an example of the type of early intervention that many youths need to stay out of trouble.

“The goal of the program is to keep kids in school, away from drugs, away from gangs,” Garcetti said. “It aims to provide role models to influence hope and keep students in school.”

The program operates with private donations and help from Laidlaw Transit, which donated school bus services for field trips this year.

For many of the 27 students participating in the mock trial, it was their first exposure to courtroom procedures.

“I learned how the court runs.” said Richard Saenz, who played a witness during the trial. “I understand the different roles in the courtroom better. It was fun.”

Others who had seen trials on television said they were surprised at the size of the East Los Angeles courtroom.

“It’s smaller than I thought it was,” said Deniss Valencia. “It looks bigger on TV.”

The hourlong trial, conducted with a student-written script, included oral testimonies, cross-examinations and jury deliberations.

The students prepared for the trial by performing skits in class that dealt with issues such as hate crimes, dating violence, graffiti and drug abuse.

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“I think that programs like this are excellent because they foster critical thinking skills at a young age,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carla Arranaga. “It implements a value system in the fifth-graders so they hopefully won’t take part in these crimes when they get older.”

Arranaga, who heads the hate crimes unit, said that most of the hate crime perpetrators are between 18 and 24 years old. She hopes early discussion of such issues will deter them from crime later.

For Pearl Tyree, the teacher of the fifth-grade class, the project gives the students a hands-on experience they cannot get from their social studies textbook.

“It’s educational and its fun,” Tyree said.

At the end of the trial, the jurors rushed back from the jury room to announce the verdict of defendant Albert. Guilty, they announced.

Judge Cervantes sentenced him to 10 years because “he could have killed someone.”

And with that, she said, court is adjourned.