For nearly two decades, Colorado’s Courts in the Community program has given the public the opportunity to see our justice system at work. Last week, the state Supreme Court heard arguments on two cases before an audience of students at Arapahoe High School. Some 600 students turned out, and by all accounts they were mesmerized.
The main hearing featured a highly controversial case that pits Denver’s home rule authority against state law on the issue of controlling firearms. The city believes its home rule authority trumps state law when it comes to regulating who can carry a gun within city limits. The state disagrees. A ruling is expected in about two months.
Arapahoe High political science teacher Brad Meyer said students were fascinated by the process – particularly the interaction between the seven justices and the lawyers and watching the lawyers think on their feet. “They saw how little it is like ‘Law & Order’ on TV, where everything falls smoothly into place,” Meyer said. In real life, the lawyers had to “dance” as the justices questioned them, said Meyer. And the questions from the justices were careful and painstaking, unlike TV dramas. The students realized how difficult the process is, he said.
Since the program started in the 1980s, the courts have taken several noteworthy cases to the community for oral arguments. One involved the Tattered Cover Book Store’s refusal to hand over purchasing information to drug authorities attempting to link a methamphetamine suspect to a drug lab. Another concerned a breach of contract case involving former Bronco Lyle Alzado and an exhibition boxing match with Muhammad Ali. And a highly controversial case that brought out protesters involved the constitutionality of the “bubble law,” which requires picketers to stay a certain distance away from anyone entering a medical clinic. That case eventually went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which affirmed the Colorado high court’s ruling that the law was constitutional.
The state Supreme Court and state Court of Appeals each hold hearings in the community once a year. Watching the judicial system in action brings the public a taste of reality that it doesn’t get on television. That can only be a good thing.
