Lesson Plan 5:

ARREST

Grade Level: 9th through 12th

Description:

The relevance and importance of laws for every citizen is a difficult point for students to appreciate. They often state that laws do not apply to them, or that only adults need to worry about our legal system. Therefore, students appear to have little understanding and appreciation of our legal system.

Goal:

The purpose of this activity is to give students first hand knowledge about an arrest of a classmate and his or her subsequent trial. Students become active participants in the legal process as they become witnesses, jurors, and defendants in a trial simulation.

Objectives:

By the conclusion of this activity students will be able to:

1. Identify legal protections for defendants and procedures used by police during the arrest process.

2. Identify Constitutional protections for individuals on trial.

3. Offer opinions about what the verdict should be in a mock trial and explain the reasons for this opinion.

Procedures:

This activity can be amended to fit individual class needs. As an introduction to a unit on the law, you could stage a mock arrest in one of your classes. At a pre-arranged time, have a local policeman enter the class and arrest a student for possession of a controlled substance. (You should hold a pre-activity conference with the student and his parents and obtain their consent for participation.) The officer will read the student his rights, handcuff him and then escort him out of the room. They return back to the room amid much confusion and discussion and explain the set-up. The rest of the period will be spent with the policeman answering questions and discussing proper arrest procedures and legal protections. Then spend the following class periods, studying cases and constitutional law involving the arrest of juveniles. Teachers can use whatever method is appropriate to discuss this material. The unit of study could then move to the courtroom for a mock trial of the student arrested on the first day of the unit. See if a local prosecutor, defense attorney, and judge will role-play the trial. Witnesses for the trial could be role-played by students. The testimony of the witnesses could be based on a scenario created by the teacher and district attorney. Students acting as jurors would then deliberate the case and render a decision.

Materials:

Text resources--Teachers may use whatever legal materials they have. There is much flexibility here as to cases and law studied. Local resources--This activity is greatly enhanced by having support from community law enforcement and legal personnel. They are best prepared to answer questions about the legal process and a combined activity between school and the private sector is good public relations with the community.

Tying it all Together: "Arrest" can be a successful activity for you and your students. Students became directly engaged in learning and took an active part in the judicial process. As a result of this activity they will better understand the difficulties faced by law enforcement officers and officers of the court in their day-to-day responsibilities. Your students will gain an appreciation of the process and recognize the importance of the legal system to each and every citizen. "Arrest" is an activity that works.

This lesson plan can also be found at http://www.col-ed.org/cur/sst/sst12.txt. It was written by Maureen Ryff of Wheatland High School, Wheatland, Wyoming.