Oregon Supreme Court at Bend High School

The Oregon Supreme Court heard oral arguments at Bend High, October 8th. Lillian teaches a first period Mock Trial Class at Bend High with history teacher Pat McHenry and they were honored that their students were selected to attend both oral arguments and then have lunch with the Justices and the attorneys. They studied the two cases that were heard by the Court: A faith healing case that involved a woman giving birth early and the baby dying 9 hours later. She did not seek medical care and chose prayer instead. The second case was a criminal case involving search and seizure and the timing of the suspect being read his Miranda rights. The students had strong opinions on both cases and it was a thrill for them to see an actual Supreme Court argument. This is possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity for most of the students. The students loved having lunch with the attorneys and the Justices and Lillian heard comments like, “gosh, they are just real people.” The Mock Trial season will begin in December and Lillian will be coaching the team from Bend High. They will have a competition February 28th at the Deschutes County Courthouse. Lillian really enjoys working with the students because they are optimistic and full of enthusiasm. Lillian says, “it is a pleasure to teach the skills of critical thinking, writing and of course oral argument.”