DOCUMENT RESUME ED 460 056 SO 033 510 AUTHOR Leone de Nie, Karen, Ed.; Todd, Amanda K., Ed.; Hess, Diana, Ed. TITLE Connecting to the Courts: A Teacher's Guide to the Wisconsin Courts. INSTITUTION Wisconsin Univ., Madison. Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction.; Wisconsin State Bar, Madison.; Wisconsin State Court System, Madison. PUB DATE 2001-06-00 NOTE 163p.; Table of contents chapter titles do not match titles of individual chapters. Also produced by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Director of State Courts Office and Wisconsin Law Foundation. Funded by the Wisconsin Humanities Council. AVAILABLE FROM Wisconsin Supreme Court, 16 East State Capitol, P.O. Box 1688, Madison WI, 53701-1298. Tel: 608-266-1298. For full text: http://www.courts.state.wi.us/. PUB TYPE Guides - Classroom Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC07 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Citizen Participation; *Citizenship Education; Court Role; *Courts; *Democracy; *Judges; *Law Related Education; Laws; Secondary Education; Social Studies IDENTIFIERS Technology Integration; *Wisconsin ABSTRACT In February 2000, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the State Bar of Wisconsin, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Curriculum and Instruction brought together 28 high school teachers from around the state together for a 2-day intensive workshop on teaching about federal and state courts. A second institute was held in February 2001 that included everything from the first one and a new segment on teaching with technology that showcased a new Web-based "Case of the Month" activity. This guide blends the materials that were used in both institutes with information from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and the "Wisconsin Law Review." The materials in the guide are designed to help secondary students learn about constitutions, courts, and cases. Focusing on these topics as part of a comprehensive democracy education program has the potential to help young people build the understanding, skills, and attitudes necessary for active and informed participation in a democracy. The learning strategies embedded throughout the guide are highly interactive and collaborative and feature activities such as moot courts and the "grant/deny" petition exercise. Students work cooperatively to analyze core constitutional principles and apply them to real-life situations. The guide is divided into the following chapters: (1) "Federal Courts"; (2) "Overview of the Wisconsin Courts"; (3) "Wisconsin Supreme Court"; (4) "Wisconsin Court of Appeals";(5) "Wisconsin Circuit Court"; (6) "Judicious Election of Judges"; and (7) "Connecting to the Courts." (Contains an appendix and a glossary of terms.) (BT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. A TEACHER'S GUIDE TO THEWISCONSIN COURTS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND CENTER (ERIC) DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS 12("<hisdocument has been reproduced as BEEN GRANTED BY received from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to C. Co licenlflesier BEST COPY AVAILABLE improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 2 This guide was originally created for From the Courtroom to the Classroom, aninstitute for teachers sponsored by the State Bar of Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin-MadisonDepartment of Curriculum and Instruction, the Wisconsin Law Foundation, and the WisconsinSupreme Court. The guide and 2001 institute were funded by the Director of State CourtsOffice, State Bar of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Humanities Council. From the Courtroom to the Classroom PlanningCommittee: Attorney Sara Bowen State Bar Law-Related Education Committee Attorney Ellen Henak State Public Defender's Office-Appellate Division Diana Hess, Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Curriculum and Development Karen Leone de Nie Wisconsin Supreme Court Dee Runaas State Bar of Wisconsin Amanda K. Todd Director of State Courts Office PFZIA SrAm,BAR WISCONSIN of WISCONSIN' HUMANITIES YOUR PARTNER IN PRACTICE COUNCIL Wisconsin Supreme Court 16 East State Capitol P.O. Box 1688 Madison, WI 53701-1688 www.courts.state.wi.us (608) 266-1298 Published June 2001 - , C") 1V:3$,A I ,C'P-(is51 Q. 3/-11'141 YO'41 = I t 1 Editors: Karen Leone de Nie WisconsinSupreme Court Amanda K.Todd Director of State Courts Office Diana Hess, Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison 4 Dear Educator, In February 2000, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the State Bar of Wisconsin, and the University of Wisconsin Department of Curriculum and Instruction conducted an experiment. With funding from Youth for Justice (a division of the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention of the U.S. Department of Justice) and additional support from the Wisconsin Law Foundation, we brought 28 high school teachers from around the r-WMPIPh state to Madison for a two-day intensive workshop on teaching about the courts. We: provided information on the structure and powers of the state and federal court systems, with particular emphasis on the Wisconsin court system; held a panel discussion with circuit court judges to Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson, explain the concept of judicial independence; Wisconsin Supreme Court identified historic "teachable" cases; introduced a process for selecting appropriate cases for study; and engaged the teachers in interactive exercises such as a moot court, a mock sentencing, and a grant/deny exercise using actual Supreme Court petitions for review. The faculty included myself and my colleague Justice N. Patrick Crooks, Circuit Court Judges Ramona Gonzalez, Joseph Troy, and Steven Weinke; Supreme Court Commissioner Joseph Wilson; Attorneys Tom Balistreri, Ellen Henak, Margaret Maroney, and Michael Tobin; and staff from the Supreme Court and State Bar. In addition, we were fortunate to have Georgetown Adjunct Law Professor Lee Arbetman, whose Street Law textbooks are now used in many Wisconsin high schools and in schools around the world. Professor Arbetman and Professor Diana Hess (University of Wisconsin-Madison), another presenter who helped to organize this event, also facilitate a summer institute for teachers at the U.S. Supreme Court. Teachers from our first institute told us: I may revamp a lot of my curriculum based on what I learned and This is the best seminar I have ever attended in my 27 years. Faced with sentiments like these, we could do only one thing. We held the second institute in February 2001. It included everything that made the first one successful and a new segment on teaching with technology, showcasing a new Web page designed to complement the institute and a new Web-based Case of the Month activity. A law librarian from the Wisconsin State Law Library showed teachers how to find information that will help them develop their own law-related lesson plans on everything from body piercing to labor regulations for minors. And a teacher from the first institute joined us to give practical advice on using the exercises in the classroom. The final piece that is new in 2001 is in your hands. The Teacher's Guide to the Wisconsin Courts blends the materials that were used in both institutes with information from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the Wisconsin Law Review, and more. I would also like to recognize the Wisconsin Humanities Council, which provided a grant to produce this guide. Alexis de Tocqueville, the great 19th-century writer and student of American democracy,observed that most public issues in the United States eventually become legal issues.Indeed, Americans do turn to the law every day to resolve their disputes. America's schools have an important role toplay in fostering public understanding of the law and the justice system, but they can't be expected to doit alone. We hope that the institute, the Web materials, and this book will help our schools tobuild young adults who have confidence in our legal system, who feel that they have full access to the servicesthis system can provide, and who value the role of law in our society. Sincerely yours, Shirley S. Abrahamson Chief Justice, Wisconsin Supreme Court iv Dear Educators: On behalf of the State Bar of Wisconsin and its Law-Related Education Committee, I welcome you and your students to the study of the Wisconsin court system through this new publication, the Teacher's Guide to the Wisconsin Courts. The Wisconsin Supreme Court and the University of Wisconsin- Madison Department of Curriculum and Instruction produced the guide with funding from the Wisconsin Humanities Council. This guide was inspired by From the Courtroom to the Classroom, the justice teaching institute sponsored by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the State Bar of Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and the Wisconsin Law Foundation. The institute is one of the many resources available to Wisconsin educators Attorney Charles (Chuttie) Senn, through the State Bar of Wisconsin and the Law-Related chair of the State Bar of Wisconsin Education Committee. Law-Related Education Committee Public education about the law is an important mission of the State Bar of Wisconsin. We thank you, the educators, for preparing young Americans for their roles ascitizens with both rights and responsibilities. We trust these materials will help you convey the importance of the judicial system in resolving disputes in a peaceful and orderly manner. The moral authority of an independent judiciary sets our country's political system apart from many others, and we thank you for educating your students about the courts and the important court decisions that have played a crucial role in American and Wisconsin history. The Law-Related Education Committee of the State Bar extends its thanks to the many educators, judges, and lawyers who have volunteered their time and efforts to create the justice teaching institute.