Provides lawyers, planning to work with elementary school children, practical suggestions for making their presentations more effective. Topics include getting to know your clients, pacing your presentation, and fostering interaction through the use of anecdotes and a modified socratic method. (JDH)

Prepared as a Law Day speech for the State Bar of Texas, this article examines law and lawyers in the United States, past, present, and future. Includes sections on the adversary system, the legal profession, historical legal theory, and the rule of law. (GEA)

Presents a strategy designed to help secondary students better understand the work of lawyers and think critically about their role. To be used by a classroom teacher alone, or with a visiting lawyer, the lesson discusses the duty of confidentiality and examines the 1973 New York "Case of the Missing Bodies." (GEA)

Presents four strategies for teaching secondary students about equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment. To be taught by the classroom teacher or a visiting lawyer, these strategies use such methods as a panel discussion and examination of Fourteenth Amendment court cases to accomplish their goals. (GEA)

Discusses the implications and evolution of allowing live broadcast coverage of criminal trials. Claims that broadcast coverage has helped to demystify the judicial system acting as an educational medium. Considers the influence of the Courtroom Television Network (Court TV) that does live broadcasts of trials 24 hours a day. (CMK)

Gives background information on 12 famous litigators who each influenced the future of the judicial system and transformed the United States into what it is today; included, among others, are John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Thurgood Marshall, Daniel Webster, and Clara Shortridge Foltz. (CMK)

Presents a lesson for grades 4-12 which examines the attorney's role in court. Provides presentation guidelines for a visiting attorney and includes a classroom role play which can help students understand a lawyer's role in a trial and the way in which questions are used to prove a case. (GEA)

Presents three differing perspectives from American Bar Association members on whether television cameras should be allowed in the courtroom. Contends that cameras should be allowed with differing degrees of certainty: cameras truly open the courts to the public; cameras must be strategically placed; and cameras should be used only with the…

Evaluates the juvenile justice system focusing on the barriers children encounter when seeking appropriate counsel and the quality of representation. Includes an assessment of the appointment of counsel, pretrial preparation and trial performance, post-trial maneuvers, and appeals. Finds that the most common obstacle is the overwhelming caseloads…

Describes the John Scopes case of 1925 in which he was tried and convicted for teaching evolution. Gives background on the two famous attorneys for the case: William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow. Explains that the case turned into a media sensation because of the profound issues and oratory skills of the attorneys. (CMK)

Summarizes the methods and outcomes of Operation Greylord, an undercover operation that investigated the corruption of the Chicago (Illinois) court system. Shows that judges, lawyers, and police are not above and beyond the law's reach and that there are people who will take risks to ensure the existence of justice. (CMK)

Presents two lessons for grades 1-4 which help students understand responsibility by considering situations from children's literature; in this case, THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN by Browning and FANTASTIC MR. FOX by Dahl. Provides discussion questions, suggestions for role playing, and a mock trial activity which involves students with visiting…

Presents the opinions of nine professionals serving the justice system on the issue of providing representation in criminal and civil cases for those unable to pay for lawyers. Includes questions about the obligations of lawyers to provide counsel and the differences between legal representation in civil and criminal cases. (CFR)

Offers a lesson for secondary students in which they learn about the juvenile court process and procedures from a resource person that visits the classroom. Focuses on the "In re Gault" court case and local juvenile laws. Provides two handouts along with the answers to the questions on handout 1. (CMK)

Identifies and discusses sections of the U.S. Constitution that support the provision of legal aid to poor people. Reviews Supreme Court cases that deal with this topic. Includes five suggested learning activities and a vocabulary list. (CFR)