by Kent Jennings Brockwell
Staff Writer
Most judges don’t wear lime green robes in court. They also don’t use purple polka-dotted gavels, but they will this month, according to some Duval County elementary students.
The annual Law Week poster contest has returned as part of this year’s Law Week activities coordinated by the Jacksonville Bar Association. This year’s theme is “The American Jury: We the People in Action.”
For the past month, dozens of third, fourth and fifth graders at Annie Morgan Elementary in West Jacksonville have been learning about the American jury system and are creating posters depicting what they have learned.
Once the masterpieces are completed, the posters will be displayed in the Federal Courthouse. Three from each grade level will be picked to go to the County Courthouse for a final round of judging. The top three artists and their art teacher will be recognized at an awards ceremony at the County Courthouse in May.
Giselle Carson, an attorney at Marks Gray and chair of the Law Week poster contest committee, has been working with Annie Morgan art teacher Cecilia DuShey-Ward since January. Carson and DuShey-Ward have worked to develop a lesson plan that will briefly detail the jury system from the medieval period to the current era.
Though teaching the jury aspect of the legal system to elementary level students might seem a bit ambitious, several of the kids at Annie Morgan say they have really enjoyed the project.
When asked what he thought was the most important part of the American jury system, third grader Jasper Taylor, 8, seemed to understand the basic premise.
“Don’t be guilty,” he said.
Another student, 11-year-old fourth grader Genesha, said she liked learning about the jury system because one day she might be on a jury.
“People on a jury get to help people with their legal cases and problems that they have,” she said.
Carson said this year’s poster contest theme is important because it teaches the children about something that could directly affect their lives in the future.
“These kids are going to be jurors one day,” she said. “The theme this year is really important because while they are kids, they are beginning to learn about the importance of the jury and that the legal system is a cornerstone of democracy.”