Civics, judicial system visit classroom

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Fifth graders at Rancho Santana School got a lesson in civics and the judicial system when San Benito County Superior Court Honorary Judge Omar Rodriguez visited their classroom on Sept. 17 to mark Constitution Day.

The visit was part of the Power of Democracy Civic Learning Initiative, led by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, which aims to bring civics education into K-12 classrooms and teach students about the Constitution and the judicial branch of government.

The classroom visit also ties in with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. 

In early August, Rodriguez pledged to connect with 250 students by the end of the year as part of the anniversary celebration.

“I want children and people in the community to know more about the court and what we do here and to feel like this is a place for justice instead of a place for people to attend for jury duty,” Rodriguez said.

He said he wants to reach students in their own environment, where they can learn about the Constitution and discuss the roles of people who work in the judicial branch.

“I show up in a suit and they look at me quizzically, and I put on my robe and their eyes kind of light up and they respond differently when I put the robe on,” Rodriguez said.

During his classroom visits, Rodriguez brings a volume of the California Penal Code to help make the law more tangible for students. He adjusts his discussions based on the age group.

“I’ll explain to them, I don’t write these laws, but what I do is I let people know when they’ve broken the law and when they have violated one of these rules,” Rodriguez said.

Before Rodriguez’s visit, fifth grader David James Lopez said he thought judges were the people who made the rules. Afterward, he said he learned that judges have a “really big book” of laws that they rely on.

The older the students, the more in-depth Rodriguez makes his discussions.

“I may get into a more sophisticated discussion and explain to them the difference between criminal law and civil law or explain family law and custody issues with them,” he said.

During the visit, Rodriguez explained how judges hear and handle cases by using hypothetical situations and laws. Students took turns wearing a miniature judicial robe and issuing rulings based on whether they believed a person was guilty. They also acted as prosecutors and defense attorneys, arguing on behalf of their clients.

Fifth grader Nancy Gauvreau said she enjoyed the reenactment.

“I really liked how we could do the reenactment of the examples and get to see how that would work, even though it wasn’t an actual case,” Gauvreau said.

Gauvreau said she learned more about the types of cases judges handle. If she were a judge for a day, she said it would be fun to “file a case about a divorce.”

Rodriguez said he encourages students to ask questions so he can gauge what topics interest them and build on those questions in future visits. He said students commonly ask whether he can send someone to prison, whether he has handled a murder case, how many cases he handles in a day and, most frequently, how much money he makes.

Beyond teaching students about their rights, Rodriguez also encourages them to stay in school and consider higher education. He said he never expected to find himself in his current position until an opportunity presented itself.

“I do want to encourage people to have an open mind about their education and careers,” he said. “When I visit the schools, I see myself, I see little Omar sitting in those chairs, and so I want them to be able to see like their older version of themselves, possibly in the legal field, in this career.”

Fifth grade teacher Laurie Marcus said Rodriguez’s visit is important because students will grow up and need to understand their rights and the laws that govern them so they can become “responsible citizens.”

“I want them to understand the entire system as much as they can and then just focus more on the fact that they can someday make a change,” Marcus said. “It’s really important for the kids to learn about different jobs they can have in the future from all realms, not just the ones that are seen, maybe the ones that are unseen.”

Rodriguez said he hopes students who participate in his classroom visits grow up with greater trust in the judicial branch of government.

“Hopefully, they already have a belief in the court system and believe that judges are trying to do the right thing, but to reinforce that and to let them know that we’re all just people and judges are trying to do the right thing,” he said.

The BenitoLink Internship Program is a paid, skill-building program that prepares local youth for a professional career. This program is supported by Monterey Peninsula Foundation AT&T Golf Tour and Taylor Farms.