It definitely was not business as usual Tuesday morning at the Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse.
When court was called to order and U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard entered the room, it wasn’t filled with attorneys, defendants and litigants.
Instead, the judge looked out at a group of 24 high school lacrosse players and coaches from Tokyo.
The visit was part of the Open Doors to Federal Courts program established by U.S. District Courts. It’s an educational resource for teachers and students who want to learn about the American judicial system from people who work in it every day.
With help from a translator, Howard invited students to sit at the attorneys’ tables, the witness stand and jury box as she explained how trials are conducted, juries hear evidence, verdicts are reached and sentences are handed down.
She also explained how she became a federal judge, beginning with four years of college, followed by three years of law school and 13 years of private practice before being nominated to the federal bench and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Howard and the visitors then went to the jury assembly room for lunch and a presentation by Officer Wes Bowen and his partner, Felon, members of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit and of a joint task force with the U.S. Marshals Service.
Bowen explained why law enforcement uses dogs to search for missing children, apprehend suspects and, in Felon’s case, detect explosives.
“His olfactory senses are estimated to be 500 times better than ours,” Bowen said.
The officer and his dog were invited to meet the visitors, Howard said, because the mock trial usually staged for students would have been challenging in view of the language difference.
“And everybody likes dogs,” she said.
The lacrosse players and their coaches arrived in Jacksonville on Sunday after playing in a tournament Saturday in Orlando.
Before they went to the courthouse, they toured EverBank Field and got autographs from some Jacksonville Jaguars.
They’ll also play practice games with the Ponte Vedra Possums and the First Coast Lacrosse Club before they return home Friday.
The visit to Jacksonville was arranged by Randy Evans, former lacrosse player and coach and co-founder of Lighthouse Lacrosse Foundation.
The foundation’s goal is to bring lacrosse to underserved neighborhoods in Jacksonville.
Having the Japanese players in town for a few days is a way to help players from both countries get to know each other and understand sports is a universal language, Evans said.
Howard, whose son, Webb, and nephew, Gray King, are lacrosse players, enjoyed hosting the Japanese visitors during their visit to the courthouse.
“This is a lot more fun than a trial,” she said.
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