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SCALES Primer: A How-To Guide
What is SCALES? The SCALES (Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students) Project is a Tennessee Supreme Court initiative designed to educate students about the Judicial Branch of government. Participating students have a unique opportunity to attend a Supreme Court session in their own, or a nearby, community. Students are provided with study materials and classroom instruction in advance so that they understand the issues in the cases they will hear and how those cases reached the Supreme Court. Teachers are given notebooks of materials during a professional development session conducted by the Supreme Court staff and an intermediate appellate court judge. Using the materials provided by the court, teachers include judicial education in their curricula before and after students attend oral arguments. Volunteer lawyers and judges visit participating classes to further prepare students. Following oral arguments before the Supreme Court, the students meet for a “debriefing” with the attorneys who argued the cases they just heard. They also have an opportunity to meet informally with members of the Tennessee Supreme Court during lunch, which is provided by the local Bar Associations in the community hosting the SCALES project. Bar Support Local attorneys are active participants in the SCALES Project. Members of the Bar are urged to take part in the teacher in-service session and to later visit classrooms to explain the state and federal court systems and the Supreme Court cases students will hear. The Project Teachers whose classes are participating attend an in-service training session conducted in their area. Information about the state and federal court systems, suggested student exercises and summaries of the cases they will hear are provided. The Supreme Court staff and an intermediate appellate court judge conduct the in-service. Teachers are encouraged to include the materials in their curricula. Volunteer judges and lawyers visit the classes of SCALES students to review their cases and discuss the Judicial Branch of government. Students receive handbooks to use as they study the court system. The volunteers coordinate their classroom visits with teachers. The Tennessee Supreme Court meets in the SCALES Project community. The session is held in a local courtroom with the five-member court sitting at a portable bench constructed especially for SCALES. Students from participating schools are divided into groups and hear oral arguments in one case, followed by their “debriefings” with attorneys. The students later receive copies of the Supreme Court opinion on their case.
Determining a SCALES (Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students) Project Location, Date and Docket A district’s presiding judge must make a written request to the Chief Justice for a SCALES Project in that district. The Chief Justice will accept or decline the invitation and communicate the information to the SCALES (AOC) staff. Upon acceptance of the invitation, the Chief Justice, SCALES staff and presiding judge will set the SCALES Project date. The Chief Justice will notify the Appellate Court Clerk of the SCALES Project date. The SCALES staff will notify all judicial branch officials in the selected district of the SCALES Project date. The SCALES staff will arrange the docket selection deadline with the Supreme Court clerks. Inviting Schools The SCALES staff and presiding judge will determine which schools will be invited to participate. All public and private schools are invited. If the courtroom is large enough for additional attendees, home-schooled students are invited. The SCALES staff mails invitation letters to the school principals and school superintendents/directors. Included in the package is a participation form, which must be completed and returned to the SCALES staff in order to participate. Initial Planning Meeting The SCALES staff and presiding judge will establish a date for an initial SCALES planning meeting. In attendance should be: the presiding judge and his/her assistant; the SCALES staff; an official from each school district; and the area bar association(s) president or designee. At the planning meeting, the SCALES staff will explain the details of the SCALES project, which will include the role of the judge, volunteer attorneys and schools. The SCALES staff will tour the courthouse and select the SCALES courtroom. They will also tour potential lunch sites. A teacher in-service date should be established during this meeting. Be sure to avoid Spring Break and testing days.
Logistical considerations for selecting the courtroom: -maximum seating capacity -is there room for the portable bench? -location for post-case debriefings -robing/conference room for justices – must have a table and five chairs -staff area -registration area outside of courtroom -attorney preparation room (if available) Information Required from School Representatives: -number of teachers and classes participating -start and stop time of schools -travel time for buses between schools and courthouse -number of students in junior and senior classes -number of students in each high school SCALES Day Schedule When establishing the SCALES docket, school start and end times must be considered. Buses cannot transport students before school begins or after it ends. SCALES staff must know how long it takes for buses to travel between each school and the courthouse. The school(s) that starts earliest attends the first case. Those that are the furthest away attend the second case and either the nearest school, or that which ends latest, attends the final case. Volunteer Attorneys The local judges and Bar Associations are responsible for obtaining volunteer attorneys and assigning them to a school/teacher prior to the in-service. A list of volunteer attorneys and their school assignments should be provided to the SCALES staff. All attorney volunteers should plan to attend the in-service to receive their case brief, meet their teacher and make arrangements for classroom visits. Volunteer attorneys visit the classrooms of participating SCALES students to discuss the state and federal judicial systems and the case that class will hear. Volunteer attorneys attend the SCALES project with their class, assist in facilitating the debriefing and attend the lunch. Teacher In-Service The in-service is a three-hour professional development session. All teachers participating in SCALES must participate or send a designee. Teachers receive notebooks of classroom materials and handbooks, which are prepared by the SCALES staff, for each student. Local attorneys/judges should plan to attend the in-service to arrange classroom visits prior to SCALES. The in-service instructor will be an
intermediate appellate judge. The judge will review the Tennessee judicial system and the cases, which will be heard at SCALES. The SCALES staff will prepare all materials for the in-service. Materials include: -Teacher notebooks and disks, video, tote bags, SCALES pins, ink pens and nametags. The tote bags, pins and ink pens are funded through a grant from the Frist Foundation’s Ansley Fund. -Student handbooks -Briefs for attorney volunteers The SCALES staff will send in-service notices to the teachers and volunteer attorneys. The SCALES staff will arrange for an intermediate appellate judge to conduct the inservice. Upon receipt from the clerk’s office, the SCALES staff will provide case briefs to the judge. The SCALES staff will make hotel reservations for themselves and the intermediate appellate judge. The SCALES staff will travel to the in-service. They are responsible for setting up the in-service room prior to the attendees’ arrival. The intermediate appellate judge will provide instruction. At the in-service, the volunteer attorneys and teachers will establish a time for the attorneys to visit the classes. The volunteer attorneys will instruct the classes on the state and federal court systems as well as the cases students will hear. Volunteers will use the case briefs and student handbooks, which include case summaries. Security The presiding judge is responsible for contacting local law enforcement to begin the arrangements for SCALES security and transportation. The SCALES staff will follow up with local law enforcement officials to finalize details. Either the Sheriff’s Department or Police Department provides security at the courthouse and assistance in transporting the justices during the entire SCALES event. Transportation needs include a van and driver to and from the reception (if one is held) the night before SCALES and to and from the courthouse on the day of SCALES. Reception Some districts have chosen to host a reception the night before SCALES. This is entirely optional and the cost falls completely upon the local hosts. Bailiff The presiding judge may select the bailiff. The name and address of the bailiff must be forwarded to the SCALES staff one month prior to the event.
Portable Bench and Risers The presiding judge will arrange for the rental or loan of risers for the portable bench if its use is deemed necessary. The risers should be delivered and set up the day before SCALES. Standard risers are 4 feet by 8 feet and 12 inches high. A total surface area of 8 feet by 16 feet (generally 4 risers) is required to accommodate the court’s portable bench. SCALES staff will provide carpeting and bunting for the risers, in addition to bringing the bench and chairs for the court. SCALES Lunch Often, the lunch location is too far from the courthouse to allow the students to walk. Arrangements must be made to re-load the buses and move them to the lunch location. Occasionally, the local police departments will assist in the transport by stopping traffic as the buses move through town. This is important because the SCALES day schedule must be maintained in order that students return to school on time at the end of the day. The local community is responsible for the student lunch. Box lunches or fast food meals work best for this event. All students, justices, volunteer attorneys and other guests sit together for lunch; therefore, the lunch location must be able to accommodate approximately 500-700 people, depending upon the number of students attending. The court prefers to sit with students, rather than at a head table or on stage. The SCALES staff will issue lunch invitations to each school principal. The principal or his/her designee will be presented with a certificate during lunch. The SCALES staff will reserve a lunch table for the principals. The SCALES staff must have the names of those accepting certificates on behalf of the schools as the chief justice will call each up individually by name. The local Bar Association will issue lunch invitations to any of their special guests. A list of names and mailing addresses for these guests must be forwarded to the SCALES staff one month prior to the lunch. The SCALES staff will obtain information regarding SCALES day parking. They will distribute this information to the participating schools, volunteers and guests. Appellate Court Clerk The Appellate Court Clerk and appropriate staff attend the SCALES Project to perform their regular functions. Additional Volunteers The presiding judge and SCALES staff will arrange for volunteers to participate at SCALES. Volunteers meet each bus as students arrive at the courthouse. They will
remain with their students until they board the buses to return to school. The volunteers should be familiar with the courthouse. The SCALES staff provides volunteer ribbons. Volunteer attorneys will participate during SCALES day. They will attend their classes’ case, debriefing and lunch. Follow-up Information to Schools The SCALES staff will mail final reminders to teachers and attorneys with last-minute details and final attendance numbers. The SCALES staff determines the number of students allowed to participate per school. This number is based upon the seating capacity of the courtroom and the population of each school. Publicity The AOC PIO will send a press release about SCALES to all local media. SCALES Day Set-up The SCALES staff will reserve a block of rooms at a local hotel. They will make reservations for the justices, SCALES staff, appellate court clerk and deputy clerk. The SCALES staff will reserve the courtroom for both the day of SCALES and the previous day. The courtroom will be set up the day before SCALES. Checklist for SCALES staff: -Bench and chairs -Sound system -Monitors -Video cameras and tapes -Digital camera and disks -Appellant and appellee signs -Nametags for staff, volunteers and justices -SCALES lapel pins -Signed certificates -Plaque for courthouse If using risers, they will be delivered the day before SCALES. The portable bench and chair will be set-up on the risers. The SCALES staff will provide a microphone for each justice, the appellant and the appellee. Some courthouses require additional speakers. If so, the SCALES staff will set up the speakers and mixers.
The SCALES staff will videotape each case. The attorneys arguing before the Supreme Court are sent copies of their oral arguments. Because the attorneys’ backs are to the audience when arguing, a video camera is set up behind the court to project the attorney’s image onto monitors in the courtroom. The SCALES staff will provide nametags to all non-student SCALES participants. SCALES Follow Up One month prior to SCALES, the SCALES staff will have provided the chief justice with a list of names and addresses of all SCALES workers. The list should include pertinent law enforcement officials, local judges and clerks, teachers, principals, school superintendents/directors, volunteer attorneys, SCALES day volunteers, Bar Association Presidents and anyone else vital to the successful completion of the SCALES Project. After SCALES, thank you letters are sent from the chief justice to everyone on the above referenced list. The SCALES staff will send the case opinions to teachers for distribution to students.
H:\USERS\libjud\paula\judicial Outreach\SCALES Primer.doc