On tour, Portsmouth students see nitty-gritty of city's courts

PORTSMOUTH

No one broke down on the witness stand or gave a gasp-inducing murder confession.

And the judge didn't have to bang the gavel to stop a plaintiff and defendant from trying to out-shout each other.

As Circuit Judge Johnny E. Morrison pointed out, his courtroom isn't "Perry Mason" or any other TV program. But for 60 Portsmouth middle school students, Wednesday was their day in court.

They toured the Clerk of Court's office and sat in courtrooms, watching the daily stream of cases that judges hear. While it wasn't Hollywood's version of the legal system, it kept large groups of middle-schoolers quiet and tuned in.

They saw a 23-year-old drug user who had spent 30 days in jail ask for - and get - another chance. They watched a defense attorney unsuccessfully argue that his client should not have been stopped by police. They also witnessed a failed attempt to convince a judge that drugs police recovered from a man's lap didn't belong to him.

"They saw the seriousness of everything," said Richard Carter, director of social studies for Portsmouth Public Schools.

This was the second year for the court docent program in Portsmouth. Circuit Chief Judge Mark S. Davis wanted to establish it after reading about a similar offering in Virginia Beach.

Davis said he believes it is important for the public to understand court proceedings, because that produces confidence in the system. That confidence has another positive spin off, according to Davis.

"People are more likely to be law-abiding citizens when they believe justice is being done."

The court docent program gives the judges a way to spread that understanding to a new generation.

For years, Morrison has welcomed students to his courtroom or gone to schools to talk to them.

"He had already laid a foundation by making himself so available," Davis said.

It was decided that the program would be offered to middle school students because the judicial system is part of their economics and civics classes.

He likes to think that students Wednesday saw a prosecutor or some other courtroom player at work and were inspired.

After half a day of court hearings, three judges came down from the bench to talk to the students.

"Do you get nervous before you come to work? " Shaquayla Davis asked the judges.

The 14-year-old Cradock Middle School student had served as a judge in a school mock trial.

Davis told her he didn't get nervous. But, he said, "you feel the seriousness of what you're dealing with."

Shaquayla felt that, too. Seeing real defendants was difficult to watch, she said later. "I wouldn't ever want to be in their spot."

Janie Bryant, (757) 446-2453, janie.bryant@pilotonline.com