Public Notice Detail

ST. PAUL, MN (April 26, 2000) – Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen A. Blatz has often said the judiciary is the “least understood branch of government.”  An engaging, educational videotape about the court system, called “Inside/Straight: The Third Branch,” seeks to change that for high school students. 

“This video is designed to help high students understand how the judicial branch works and why it is important to their lives," said Chief Justice Blatz.  “A wonderful by-product of learning about the court system is the increased likelihood that students will consider a career in the law, so Minnesota’s bench and bar better reflects our increasingly diverse society.”

The 20-minute video will be shown for the first time to a packed auditorium of students at St. Paul Central High School on National Law Day, May 1, 2000.  A number of student actors from St. Paul Central who appear in the video and the entire Minnesota Supreme Court will be on hand for the premier showing.

Over the coming summer, the video will be sent to social studies teachers at every secondary school in the state.  The video was specifically designed to meet state graduation standards criteria, so teachers can use it as a classroom teaching tool about government.  As an added bonus, judges and a group of attorneys are developing a plan to volunteer their time next fall to go “back to school” with the students.  During these fall classroom visits, they will play the educational videotape and answer any questions that students have about the court system.

Recent statistics from the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that only 30 percent of high school seniors were proficient in the basic principles of the court system, and 28 percent in the U.S. Constitution.  Moreover, a 1999 survey from the American Bar Association showed that in addition to formal civics education, most people would like to learn more about the court system from judges and attorneys.

“We hope teachers will be on the look-out for the tape and for more information about how their local legal community can help make this video a real hands-on tool for learning,” said Chief Justice Blatz.

In the meantime, teachers who would like more information about the videotape and fall visits should call State Law Librarian Marvin Anderson, at 651-297-2084.

The videotape is a product of the Sesquicentennial Planning Committee, which worked for more than a year on the project to commemorate the court system’s 150th anniversary in Minnesota.  This committee of various community members and former judges raised private funds for the production and distribution of the tape.

 

Who:               Minnesota Supreme Court, 800 students from St. Paul Central, including several who acted in the videotape.

What:              Premier Showing of educational videotape about the court system on Law Day.  Tape will be sent to all high schools in the state, and judges and attorneys will volunteer to go “back to school” in the fall to play the tape and answer questions about Minnesota’s legal system.

Where:            St. Paul Central Auditorium, 275 Lexington Parkway North, St. Paul, MN

When:             National Law Day, May 1, 2000, 1:05 – 2:00 p.m. (Sixth period at St. Paul Central)