April is County Government Month across the State of Texas. This year, I decided to repeat a mock jury trial as we had done many years ago. With the assistance of other county officials, we were also able to have students sit in on a trial in progress as well as seeing other aspects of County Government.
The Seniors from Industrial ISD started things off the morning of April 15. They arrived before the start of a criminal trial that was in process in the District Courtroom. They were seated and caught up on what had already occurred. They were able to watch the video of the arrest of the defendant in the case. That afternoon, I met the Ganado ISD Seniors downstairs and, after another short update, they were seated in the courtroom to watch another part of the trial. Their portion did not include as much as the morning did, but I did a short question-and-answer time with them before they left. Thank you to Judge Julie Bauknight for allowing time for this.
Edna Seniors were not able to be scheduled during an actual jury trial, so a mock jury trial was set up. The students chose and participated in a “trial” about a passenger in a car that had not worn their seat belt correctly and was injured. There was even a student “jury” that went out to deliberate and unanimously found the student “defendant” guilty. The case was “presided” over by Assistant District Attorney Stephen Tyler, who also did a question-and-answer period with them while other groups rotated between the jail and voting areas.
The highlight of this year’s County Government Month activities was a presentation from Assistant District Attorney Thomas Dillard. He presented the background of how an actual Jackson County case was solved with photos, confessions and details that tied everything together to bring those responsible to justice. He did a great job!
I want to thank Krysta Frazier, Kimberly Motley, Sarah Bradley (both), Matt Kana, assistants, and bus drivers who assisted in scheduling and getting the Seniors to the courthouse. Thank you to my staff (Alecia, Angela and Claudia); Sheriff Boone and Tara Timberlake for the jail tour; Chancey Greene for explaining bailiff duties; County Clerk Kate Respondek, Lupe Lopez for Tax Assessor Monica Foster, and Judge Jill Sklar for the information they shared with the Seniors; and DA Pam Guenther and the Assistant DA’s for helping me make this a great County Government Month event!
