On Monday, November 4, Kean Pulse took to Green Lane to host Cougar Court, a mock trial, to show students the ins and outs of jury duty.
There were two sessions a different group of students each and they all agreed on how effective and knowledgeable the experience was and that they absolutely walked away learning something new.
“I learned about simple assault and how to better define misdemeanors and infractions,” said Rashaad Couloote, a graduate student studying Forensic Psychology. “My mom used to work in courtrooms and I used to want to be a lawyer growing up… so I just wanted to see how Kean would tackle legal proceedings.
Couloote studied criminal justice during undergrad and was one of many students familiar with the court system who still discovered new information.
“I’m considering law school after this so it was very interesting,” said Jubilee Rendon, a junior Criminal Justice major. “In this type of case [I learned] with defamation they don’t really need to bring any witnesses.”
The case was Batzel vs Smith, Smith bringing Batzel to court for defamation, but unfortunately for Smith, people like Batzel are protected by the Communications Decency Act which protects internet companies from lawsuits regarding user content, a concept new to many students.
Besides the mock trial, there were other activities students could participate in between breaks like trivia games where students identify a crime, misdemeanor and infraction and true or false questions surrounding court rules.
“I didn’t know that petty assault and the other things discussed were both a part of misdemeanors, I thought petty offenses were just infractions but it wasn’t, they’re considered misdemeanors just two different types,” said Bobbi Perry, a Computer Science major who has done many mock trials before.
Another student, Nicole Rodriguez an Art Education major with a minor in Art History and currently works with kids also stated that things she learned during the event will be something she uses in the future.
“I learned what a misdemeanor and infraction is…[and] some interesting jargon that I’ll definitely be using with my kids.”
In the end, Kean Pulse left students with useful information and fun treats like donut holes and bottled drinks but students walked away comfortably for whatever future jury duty may have for them.
