Got teenagers? Want an interesting summer activity you can do as a family? Let me suggest a visit to a local courtroom. Take your teens and watch a hearing or a trial. It doesn’t need to be a big criminal case. It can be anything above small claims court. Small claims courts allow no attorney representation, and proceedings are more interesting when you insert one or more lawyers. It can be every bit as exciting as a good movie. It can be more exciting because you are there in person. Your bonus is that teenagers will learn a lot about legal matters. They will learn, too, about character under oath.
Character under oath is all too rare in our courtrooms. Teenagers will learn this as they watch the “swearing in” of a witness. In their presence, the court clerk will intone, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” The witness will, inevitably, answer in the affirmative.
But wait! There’s a challenge here for your teenagers – something they aren’t likely to tackle in their school character education program. Challenge them to determine whether each witness abides by that oath. Encourage them to see how much character is exercised under that oath.
One thing character education teachers seldom teach is that in almost every court hearing or trial, at least one person will step up to the witness stand, swear to tell the truth, sit down, and violate the oath he or she just took. Our society cares that little for character. We think that lightly of oaths. A person who claims to be ever-so-honest at home will lie on the witness stand for self-protection. A co-worker who seems honest-to-a-fault may break his or her oath to protect friend or family member.
Lying under oath is expected in modern court proceedings. That is one reason we have juries in trials. Juries must try to sift through the lies and keep only facts. If you attend a hearing instead of a trial, and there is no jury present, the judge will weigh witness statements to determine whether they are true.
When the rancher sold off those 50 cows after filing for bankruptcy, did he really not know it was against the law to do so? When the young woman claimed she was attacked repeatedly by her neighbor’s big, fluffy cat, is she expressing truth or a nightmare? The witness may be breaking his or her oath.
A sad fact schools seldom teach is that courts almost never punish lying. They teach teens about the crime of perjury, but fail to teach that this crime usually goes unpunished. One attorney wrote of sending a slam-dunk case of perjury to a local D.A., explaining that one party in court actually said he lied under oath. The D.A. never responded to the letter. He or she couldn’t be bothered to prosecute perjury, even though it is a crime.
Character under oath should be no more difficult than character outside of oath. You will want teenagers to learn this, and courtrooms are good arenas in which to learn.
After you’ve visited court, give your teenagers copies of the book, Passport to Courage, and let them enjoy the thrilling story of a boy who tried to escape the law. It will intrigue them, and will reinforce the lesson learned in court.
That’s the view from my chair. What’s your view?