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Shymir Cruz has years to select a vocation, but the precocious second-grader at Andrew Jackson School, 1213 S. 12th St., might have had his path chosen Friday at City Hall.
He and 24 classmates participated in the site’s seventh Law Week celebration, using their wits in a mock trial to debate the innocence of Goldilocks, the curious character who enters and alters a home in “The Story of the Three Bears.” The 1837 Robert Southey tale provided the youngsters a glimpse into the legal world and might have convinced Shymir to crack open a few new textbooks.
“I like learning about laws,” the resident of the 700 block of South 13th Street said. “I might want to become a judge.”
If the Hawthorne inhabitant comes to don a robe and wield a gavel, he might fraternize with members of the Young Lawyers Division of the Philadelphia Bar Association, who helped him and nearly 300 other potential counselors and mediators to analyze the aforementioned story, “Jack and the Beanstalk” and “Three Little Pigs.” The personalities united in one courtroom before dispersing to hear testimony.
“You will be practicing the art of achieving justice,” Court of Common Pleas President Judge Pamela Pryor Dembe said to the six schools’ learners. “Be discerning, have fun yet be aware of the seriousness of your involvement.”
Carrying jury duty subpoenas, the Passyunk Square representatives listened attentively as they received their room assignment under the watch of Common Pleas Judge Idee C. Fox, a 16-year bench presence and a 1963 Jackson alumnus. The former resident of the 1100 block of Ellsworth Street had requested to guide her alma mater through the proceedings.
“Today is about sparking intrigue and inspiring understanding of civic responsibility,” the Roxborough dweller said.
Bearing “Juror” stickers,” the children were split into two groups and prepared to ponder the fate of the defendant, whom Southey’s imagination rendered an old woman and who became the much more familiar blond girl in Joseph Cundall’s 1849 version in “Treasury of Pleasure Books for Young Children.”
“We learned a month ago of the honor,” 29-year teacher Wendy Segal said, as Principal Lisa Ciaranca-Kaplan’s interactions with Society Hill’s McCall School, another participant, cemented the pupils’ opportunity. “We had discussions on what happens at City Hall and worked on how to appreciate the evidence to make a fair decision.”
A few learners began to giggle, as three lawyers added animal headdresses to portray the violated mammals and a fourth professional sported a wig to play the alleged offender, who, after a succession of name changes, became Goldilocks in 1904’s “Old Nursery Stories and Rhymes.” The script titled the experiment “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Golden Locks aka Gold E. Locks” and called on Fox to announce the presumed offenses.
“As I understand them, the charges against Gold E. Locks include four counts of bad manners, demonstrated by entering a home uninvited; eating another person’s food without permission; breaking another person’s chair; and messing up a made bed,” she said.
The district attorney’s opening statement vowed to prove Gold E. Locks responsible for overstepping the boundaries of her relationship with the ursine trio, while the defense aimed to show his client was a guest who had chosen to honor the youngest bear’s overtures for her to visit. As the first witness, Momma Bear revealed an autumn day’s preparation of porridge for her and her kin. The matriarch also disclosed her son had failed to shut the front door before they enjoyed a forest walk designed to give their food time to cool. Her mate appeared next, with laughter coming as he used growls to punctuate his frustration over finding his abode disturbed.
Baby Bear drew sympathetic looks when he told of his empty bowl, broken chair and occupied bed. His confession of failing to obtain a strong visual of the fleeing youth gave the defense hope as it called its lone witness. The script brought on smiles as it stated Gold E. Locks and Baby Bear attend Jackson. That aspect seemed to try to persuade the children to see the former as someone worthy of clemency; however, she essentially announced her culpability, as she could muster only a recollection of an invitation from the latter as justification for her actions.
“Juries, you will now deliberate and present your verdict right after,” Fox said. “Consider all you’ve heard.”
One body remained in the room, while the other retreated to a private area with Segal and a court officer, who distributed a sheet that summarized the accusations. In ’58, President Dwight D. Eisenhower tabbed May 1 “Law Day” to advocate for enhanced civic engagement. The Philadelphia Bar Association devised a week of activities, including April 30’s Legal Advice Live! event at the Thomas Donatucci Sr. Branch, 1935 Shunk St., and capped its outreach with the trials. Fox, participating in her third year of mock trials, gave the figures another reminder of needing to be sure in their thinking, but Shymir needed no prodding.
“She is guilty,” he said when Center City’s Segal asked for the group’s stance on the entering sans permission charge.
His colleagues voted unanimously to deem her blameworthy yet found her not guilty of eating the food. Shymir also led the cry to find her not guilty of breaking the chair.
“Maybe it was rusted, or a leg was loose,” he said, sounding suited for the role of a defense attorney.
After a “not guilty” decision, they found her guilty for messing up a made bed. They perked up even more when they heard their peers’ deliberation had yielded almost the same conclusions. The second set found Gold E. Locks guilty of all but breaking the chair, with Shymir’s group giving her more grave news. Seriousness gave way to levity as the lawyers commended their helpers and discussed their roles in the legal world.
“All court cases teach us the importance of decisions,” Fox said.
After an explanation of the building, she invited all of the young ones to wear her robe and rap her gavel. The latter made them feel official, as so many confided, but the story appealed most to Shymir.
“I liked the action,” he said of the tale. “The growls were funny, too.”
He was thrilled to have the session live up to the hype he had assigned to it.
“I almost peed my pants when I heard we would be at City Hall,” he said.
With no worries about incontinence, he joined the group and Fox for a picture, shouting “Porridge” over “Cheese.”
“Maybe some will become lawyers or judges,” Fox said. “Regardless, they have participated in a learning exercise that teaches discipline and discernment. What can beat that?”
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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