Real world experience

You can hear all the lectures in the world, but there's no substitute for first-hand experience.

For years, members of the Jay County Bar Association have spoken to government classes at Jay County High School in connection with Law Day in May.

So far as anyone knows, the lectures were pretty good.

But this year, the bar association decided to take a different approach and our guess is that the impact was far more meaningful.

Rather than just speaking to students in a classroom, local lawyers, the county prosecutor's office, and the Jay Circuit Court conducted a mock trial last week.

Students began the day as part of the potential jury pool and were questioned by both the prosecution and defense as to their ability to serve impartially. Some were selected as jurors, the others stayed on as spectators.

They heard testimony, they heard cross-examination, they heard arguments before the court. Then the jurors deliberated and did their best to reach a verdict.

After it was all over, the students and their government teachers were then able to ask the judge, the defense attorney, and the prosecuting attorney questions.

One answer might have been an eye-opener: The cost for the defendant in a drunk driving case weighed in at $3,000 to $4,000 when all was said and done.

Sure, all of that could have been communicated in a classroom lecture. But lessons learned first-hand are those that are most often taken to heart.

Thanks to the Jay County Bar Association, some important lessons were learned last week. - J.R.

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