Good Citizens

What a great day for a field trip!

We started at the County Court House.

We sat out on the historic steps and learned that this building was the second court house built in Paw Paw.  This one was built in 1901!!

We were very impressed by its age!

We went inside...

 ...to the historic courtroom.  Judge Dufon was presiding in court today.  

He explained the roles of citizens in a democracy, including the importance of voting and serving on a jury.  He also talked with us about laws and the role of government in creating and enforcing laws. 

We set up a council of townspeople to decide about creating a law that would not allow animals on school grounds.

Mrs. Koehn got arrested for bringing a seeing-eye dog to school.

Officer Holden was the one who arrested Mrs. Koehn.  He was a witness at the trial.

After hearing the evidence, the jury found Mrs. Koehn guilty of violating the law of Teddy Town.

Judge Dufon presided over the case to make sure it was conducted fairly - with justice for all!

After the trial, the town council met again to talk about the law and to make revisions to it.  They decided that a better law would be to only permit service animals on school grounds in Teddy Town.

The students learned so much about the legal process and the tough decisions lawmakers have to make!  We also saw first hand how difficult it can be to enforce laws when there can be circumstances when it might be permissible. 

What a wonderful day in court today!  

Thank you to Mr. Hardester and Judge Dufon for all your time and energy in helping our students learn about the Constitution and its applications!

 After the court house, we headed to the Paw Paw Police Station.  We had a tour of the building, including learning about all the things police officers carry with them.  

We saw what police officers have in their vehicles to help in emergencies.  

We squeezed into the interview room...

...and we saw the locker room where the officers keep their uniforms.

We even had time to see the fire trucks!!

Thank you to the entire Paw Paw Police Department for making our day so special!
We learned so much from all of you!