by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
A group of students from Fletcher High got a taste of nearly real-life courtroom experience last week when they “tried” Daniel McPherson for drug possession. The case, based on the real life case of Hudson v. Michigan, also tested the legality of an FBI search and seizure.
The mock trial was part of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida’s “Open Doors to Federal Court” program. This year’s Open Doors theme is “Partners in Justice: An Independent Judiciary and a Fair-Minded Jury.” Sponsored by the administrative office of the U.S. Courts, the program centers on a fictional high school house party, a search – that may or may not have been legal depending on the interpretation of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution — and the resulting criminal case.
Held at all five of the Middle District’s divisions – Jacksonville, Tampa, Ft. Myers, Orlando and Ocala — the mock trail featured over 60 seniors from Fletcher. The kids were accompanied by long-time Fletcher teacher Ed Lange, who has also coached the school’s mock trial team 1989. Lange said not all of the students are in his law class and a vast majority of the preparation for last week’s mock trial, and the others the school participates in across the state, is done after school.
“They did all of this on their own. They are self-motivated,” said Lange.
Over the years, Lange’s teams have fared well. He recently took a six-man team to Orlando and finished third out of 14 teams from various circuits around the state. His teams have won the state competition once, finished second once, third twice and fourth seven times.
Lange’s students have also made their mark professionally. He’s never kept a running count, but Lange figures well over 100 of his students have gone on to become lawyers.
“The ‘97 team had three (of six) that went on to become lawyers,” he said.
U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Morales Howard hosted the event and, along with fellow District Court Judge Timothy Corrigan and Magistrate Judge Monte Richardson, presided over one of the three mock trials. Each trial consisted of a motion to suppress evidence, a trial and a verdict. Outside of Howard, Corrigan and Richardson, students served as attorneys for the defense and prosecution, the defendant, witnesses and the jury.
“This will give you a glimpse of what it’s like to be a juror,” said Howard, who was appointed by President Bush last June as a U.S. District Judge and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in February. “Lawyers go through their entire career dying to know what goes on in the jury room. This is an invaluable opportunity to get an idea of what that’s like.”