Thursday, November 1, 2018

People's Rights & Responsibilities

Miranda rights: "You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."

Do you know your rights? We thought we did!

Come on -- we've all watched those police dramas where the accused, as he's handcuffed, is told, "You have the right to..."

We discovered that we are wrong about what we know. A retired police officer enlightened us -- detectives read you your rights, not the patrol officers who handcuff and haul you away. Huh.

So, how did we get here? With College Career Readiness Standards guiding our way, we examined job opportunities and pathways to law-related jobs. (In fact, one of our learners was hired as a security guard as a result of this exploration. Yahoo!)

Most importantly, we studied the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments to the US Constitution) and examined Supreme Court case materials for Miranda v. Arizona (1966). 

We also "acted like" attorneys as we determined if an action was a crime. What would you decide? 


Crime or no crime
 A man puts gas in his truck, and then drives away. A block away from the station, he realizes that the pump handle was still lodged in his gas tank.

We also went to South Salt Lake Justice Court. The presiding judge, with help from two prosecuting attorneys and one defense attorney, explained the judicial process. We watched people go through arraignment, pretrial, trial, and sentencing. The experience was nothing like Perry Mason or Law and Order.

An APP Officer also came to us - to explain his work and share his tools of the trade. You know, like all those gadgets on his belt. And, yes, he even let us explore the inside of his police vehicle. Pretty cool. 


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