By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Crawford County students didn’t have to travel very far to see The Supreme Court of Ohio in session Wednesday. The Bucyrus Secondary School hosted the 67th session of the Supreme Court of Ohio Off-Site Court program, which invited juniors and seniors from Buckeye Central, Bucyrus, Colonel Crawford, Crestline, Galion, Wayside Christian and Wynford to hear oral arguments.
After hearing an oral argument, the students were then given a chance to question the attorneys involved in the case during a question-and-answer debriefing session.
The Bucyrus and Wynford students, who got the first crack at seeing the Ohio Supreme Court at work Wednesday, quickly got into the spirit of the day. They questioned Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mary McGrath and County Public Defender Erika Cunliffe on everything from how long they get to prepare for an oral argument in front of the Justices to how cordial they act to one another.
McGrath and Cunliffe, who argued about what evidence is required to prove that a couple cohabitated for that offense to be considered domestic violence, took the questions in stride.
One student asked why they had to establish the couple in the case as boyfriend and girlfriend.
The two attorneys explained that, because a domestic violence charge is usually between a husband and wife, the defendant in this case would not automatically be charged with domestic violence. McGrath said she tried to show that the two individuals were, in a sense, family members even though they weren’t related by blood or married.
One student even asked why they chose to become a prosecutor and a defender.
“I couldn’t do what Erika does,” said McGrath. “It takes a lot of patience and a lot of understanding.”
As for Cunliffe, she said she had been involved with the law, in one way or another, her entire life, starting with her father, who was a police officer. She added that it was just in her nature to argue the other side.
Bucyrus Senior Darrien Hedges seemed to have the tenacity of a lawyer when he grilled McGrath and Cunliffe with the tough question: have they ever had to argue or defend something really important that they may not have agreed with.
“It was kind of brought up earlier and I just wondered how that would like, how it would kind of make them feel if they ever had to defend anything they didn’t believe in, how would they go advocate? How would they support that?” wondered Hedges.
As a public defender, Cunliffe said it was her job to make sure her client’s constitutional rights were looked at. McGrath said that there may be some laws that she may not agree with but that wouldn’t stop her from upholding the law.
“The kids seemed really engaged for teenagers,” commented McGrath after the session.
“Their questions were so good and I thought they picked up on things about the case and then about the practice too,” added Cunliffe.
Wynford senior Lindsay Rausch, who was one of the students to question the lawyers, enjoyed the opportunity to see the Ohio Supreme Court at work. “It’s just a really good learning experience because we always have government classes we are required to take for graduation and so we can see it first hand and not a lot of people get to do that.”
Hedges also enjoyed the experience. “I always thought it’d be kind of cool to go in to something like this. I just like arguing with people,” he said. “I think it was really good for us to see. I mean, we are seniors this year. It’s kind of helping some of us realize where we’re going to go with the rest of our lives.”
County Prosecutor Matt Crall had helped prepare some of the students for the oral arguments that were to be heard and was quite impressed with how they handled themselves during the day.
“It’s a great experience for the kids in our community to be able to see this right in our home. Just the number of people if they were doing it down there (in Columbus), we may be able to send four, five kids. Here, I think we tried to give every junior and senior the opportunity to be here. It shows them what’s possible if you put your nose to the grindstone, get to work and get those credentials for whatever you want to do. I think the Supreme Court Justice’s varied backgrounds, and I think that sends a good message for them,” said Crall.
“I was really impressed by our students. They did a great job, one of presenting themselves, you know, their attire was appropriate,” he added.
One of the Justices even commented on how well the students presented themselves.
“They had great questions,” Crall said. “I can tell they were actively engaged in what they were doing and thinking about the issues and I was very impressed.”
The Buckeye Central and Colonel Crawford students heard an oral argument about what evidence the State has to present to prove prior convictions in a domestic violence case. The Crestline and Galion students listened in as attorneys from Ottawa County argued whether minors have a constitutional right to participate in a visitation hearing.
This was the first time the Off-Site Court Program had been hosted in Crawford County and only the second time it had been hosted by a school district. The Ohio Supreme Court holds sessions in other communities twice a year to allow students and Ohioans a chance to learn more about the state’s judicial system.
Bucyrus is the hometown of Justice Paul E. Pfeifer. His term ends January 1, 2017.