WAILUKU–With a busy day ahead, Business Law teacher Mr. Kealiʻi Mossman wasted no time in getting his students down to the state courthouse to hear from attorneys and watch the court system in action, Monday, Nov. 21.

In Wailuku, the students hustled directly off the bus to Courtroom Four ready to experience the deliberation of cases. They had just finished studying the first ten Amendments in class and had been educated on the court system, so this was a chance to see what they were studying being put into practice.

“They know that,” Mr. Mossman said, whenever class material came up, and the students responded with, “Yeah, we do.”

The students witnessed a variety of cases ranging from sentencing to a change in plea.

Throughout the morning, they saw and heard shocking, interesting, and exciting things. One of the interesting things was how the Amendments come into play in the courtroom.

“The judge has to keep saying all of [the defendants’] rights,” Brendan Urayanza said.

This tedious procedure, that even the judge himself found annoying, left students flabbergasted.

After the morning cases were complete and recess finally came along, the students had the opportunity to role play the different courtroom positions, as well as take a “backstage tour.”

Senior Macie Pagan Draculan played the judge while others imitated jurors, the defendant, the prosecutors, and witnesses. The class also had a behind the scenes look at the judges’ chambers, which does not happen often.

The students enjoyed the many interesting cases.

“He bought the pepper spray for his girlfriend, but he used it on her,” Nitta said about one of the cases she found compelling.

After a fun and educational look into the legal system, the students could not suppress their excitement over being able to eat at McDonald’s for lunch before their return to school.

Gallery • 6 Photos

Photo by Kimani Fernandez-Roy

Students gather after getting off the elevator and walk into Courtroom Four.