This week, I will for the first time in my life exercise my civic duty by serving on a jury. Somehow, I have not been called to serve until now. I can’t say I’m eager to go. This is one of the busiest times at school for a learning specialist, but I know I need to fulfill this obligation of my citizenship, so I’m trying to think of it as both a learning and teaching experience. I refreshed my memory to find that a right to a jury trial was guaranteed by the 6th and 7th Amendments to the Constitution. People have a right to have disputes settled by a jury of their peers. And now I’m being called to potentially sit on a jury. I’m not quite sure what it all will entail or how many days I will be out of work, sitting as a juror. I hope to learn about the court system, which I will take back to my students.
To qualify for being on the jury in New Jersey, I had to be a US citizen and at least 18 years old but not yet 72 years old. I must be able to read and understand English and be physically and mentally fit. Also, to sit on a jury, one can have no legal convictions. If I am selected as a juror, I know I will hear evidence in a specific case and will need to determine the facts and hand down a verdict of guilty or not guilty. Most obviously, I know I will be fair and impartial.
As I did a little research about how civics and in particular the justice system is explained to young children, I found that there were some good resources, but not as many as I thought there would be. I guess it might be difficult to explain the idea of the presumption of innocence before a person is proven guilty of a crime. But it is so essential to our democracy that I think children should be exposed to these concepts at a very young age. The protection that is afforded from the presumption of innocence is so important to the idea of a fair trial and adequate legal representation.
Laurie Wolke, the Head of School at The Laurence School in Valley Glen, California created a Mock Trial program where 6th graders place historical, fairy tale, and literary characters on trial. The students act as prosecutors, defense attorneys and witnesses. The jury consists of 2nd through 5th grade students. I have heard of Mock Trials, but mostly at the high school level. I love that Ms. Wolke has brought these ideas to elementary students. I remember a time in my 3rd grade class that we acted out a trial of Jack vs. the Giant. The children developed critical thinking skills finding evidence of Jack’s innocence (the defense) or his guilt (the prosecution). It was one of the first times where I saw children fully invested in learning without my constant prompting and prodding. They worked on this project in their free time. Proving Jack’s innocence was of paramount importance to them, and they felt that they had the power to set Jack free.
Books About Civics and Good Citizenship
- Advanced Fairy Tales on Trial by Janis Silverman
- A Kids Book About Civic Engagement by Marissa Grass
- American Government by Brenda Rollins
- A Trip to the Courthouse by Vincent W. Goett and Carolyn Lawson
- Fairy Tales on Trial by Janis Silverman
- For Which We Stand: How Our Government Works by Jeff Foster
- How to be a Good Citizen by Emily James
- Kids are Citizens by Ellen Keller
- Know and Follow Rules by Cheri J. Meiners
- Order in the Court: A Mock Trial Simulation by Richard Cote
- Our Classroom Rules! By Kallie George
- Our Playground Rules! by Kallie George
- Sasha is a Good Citizen by Dominic Kawa
- The Little Book of the Supreme Court by Zach Bush
- We Live here Too: Kids Talk about Good Citizenship by Nancy Loewen
- What’s the Law? By Vincent W. Goett and Carolyn Lawson
- Why Do We Have Laws? by Jacqueline Gorman
Links to Mock Trials
Civics Education Websites
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 
Good luck with your jury duty. I’ve only been called once and I never made it to the selection. My daughter is the head public defender in our area, so I know about the proof of guilt. She does it for those who get stuck in the system. She has some sad stories to tell. I am so proud of her work. She’s a believer!
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I was on a jury years ago. It was a petit jury, as opposed to grand jury. I can’t remember all the details anymore, but we were called for a month. I got on a jury. It was a reverse discrimination case. The whole experience was very interesting.
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Hi, Joanne!
I commented yesterday but was working and on a teacher computer, so I think my comment went yo spam or some unnamed place in the great beyond.
Anyway, like you, I’ve only been called for jury duty once. It was for a now infamous murder trial. I was part of a large pool and was dismissed. I agree w/ the civic responsibility points you make and also think young children need to be taught civics early in life. Love all the resources you’ve provided and find myself thinking about literary trials we held during my teaching days.
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As a Fourth grade teacher we have to cover the Bill of Rights & The Constitution. All of these resources you shared are being saved in a folder for future reference.
I was only called for jury duty once but I didn’t make it past the first round. Your Slice mentioned mock trials and it made me think of high school. I took a course that was called Street Law & we learned about the justice system a little more in depth. We even did mock trials and we loved those days.
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So impressed with the approach you have here! Understanding your own civic duty (learning) and thinking about how you can bring it back to kids (teaching). The list of books is an important one because, as we know, books are powerful teaching tools! Thanks for sharing and good luck!
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Have a great learning experience on the jury. I have been called twice, both times during exams in college many years ago, and since I was out of state with no car, I got excused. I always love your book lists and learning from your blog post – your insight into embracing life and learning at every turn is inspirational. I must confess that while I know it’s my civic duty, I would be a little less welcoming in December than you are, so I appreciate the way you offer a reshaping of ideas here.
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The timing couldn’t be better for this, Joanne. I, too, served on a jury for my first time ever, two years ago. (I wouldn’t make the age cut-off now!) You teach in New Jersey as did I for most of my career. I used to receive the Legal Eagle newsletter for kids. I think it’s provided by the NJ Law Center. I went to a couple of PD sessions with them, too. The middle schoolers and I learned a lot about how the legal system works. You might want to check it out if you haven’t already. (We did a mock trial in the fourth grade—I think—using Goldilocks…)
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One of my favorite things to do when I was teaching was to have students participate in a mock trial. One piece of literature that is for older students, is “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl. I used to have kids from study hall sit on the jury. Students learned a great deal through this wonderful practice. I recently had a summons but never had to attend a single meeting as everything was settled out of court. I will be fascinated to read what happens if you are selected to be a juror. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful list of books!
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