Judge Beth Gibson of 92nd District Court explains to a group of sixth through eighth grade students at Gros Cap School about how court is conducted Wednesday, January 20. Reading each defendant his or her rights and ensuring they are understood are critical steps when conducting court, she said. A local program to educate students about court proceedings took court officials and school administrators by surprise last week when a man appearing before the judge collapsed to the ground and asked court officials to shoot him.

Sixth through eighth grade students at Gros Cap School learned about how the law works and the roles of the judge and prosecuting and defending attorneys when 92nd District Court was convened in their school Wednesday, January 20.

The court makes a point of visiting schools in the area to hold live court proceedings, with the goal of teaching young people about the process and giving them examples of real court cases, particularly cases involving substance abuse arrests such as drunk driving. The court can use these cases to impress upon students the consequences of such behavior, said Judge Beth Gibson.

In Wednesday's session, court officials and school administrators were surprised by the reaction of a defendant who had been charged with drug possession while attempting to take his own life in a public place. When brought before the court and the details of the arrest were presented, the man collapsed to the floor, then requested that sheriff deputies "shoot me now" when they came near to revive him.

An ambulance was called and the defendant was taken from the building to receive medical care.

Judge Gibson later explained that cases appearing before students are pre-screened in an attempt to ensure that defendants don't have children or other relatives seated in the student body, but cases are not screened by circumstance or crime, however, so a case involving a public suicide attempt would not be disqualified as a candidate for the school presentation. All court cases on the docket that day will appear before the student body, regardless of charges, she said. Defendants do not have a choice about participating in the program.

The judge did not know about the man's suicide attempt or possible mental instability when he came before her, she said, but she acknowledged, "We don't want the kids exposed to anything dangerous."

Although the defendant had been convicted of earlier crimes, including rape and burglary years ago, he had not come before Judge Gibson previously.

No changes to the program or the screening process will be considered in light of last week's incident, the judge said.

Cases students witnessed that day also dealt with reckless driving, driving without a license, and possession of marijuana.

Superintendent William Peltier later said students were debriefed by teachers about what they saw, and teachers explained to them that the man was not well when he entered the court. The students were moved to another room while an ambulance was called. Sheriff Scott Strait, who was in the room at the time of the defendant's collapse, returned later and notified them the man was fine. School administrators do not know what cases will be on the docket when court is conducted at the school, Mr. Peltier pointed out, and he anticipates no changes to the program at his school. He said parents were not notified by the school about the incident.

The court program supplements students' learning about the Constitution, and how defendants' rights are directly related to it, pointed out lead teacher Monica Silet. Students at Gros Cap have been learning about the duties and responsibilities of the probate, district and circuit courts.

The next school program for 92nd District Court will be Tuesday, February 23 at St. Ignace Middle School. Visits to other districts this school year have not been finalized yet.