Eisenhower High School visits Wisconsin Supreme Court

Madison, Wisconsin - December 3, 1999

Twenty-five students from Eisenhower High School will travel to Madison today to watch Supreme Court oral arguments at 9:45 and 10:45 a.m. and meet with Justice Jon P. Wilcox over the noon hour. The exercise is made possible by a program called Court with Class, which is sponsored by the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the State Bar of Wisconsin.

The students will watch a criminal appeal from Milwaukee County Circuit Court in which the Supreme Court will decide whether there was an adequate factual basis for the defendant to have pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless homicide while armed with a dangerous weapon. They will also watch a criminal appeal in an Adams County sexual assault case. In this case, the Supreme Court will clarify when information about other crimes (unrelated to the crime for which the defendant is on trial) may be admitted into evidence for use in establishing a motive.

After the two, one-hour hearings, the class will meet with Wilcox for a civics lesson and a question and answer session.

Court with Class has won two national awards since its inception three years ago. The program's aim is to enrich the high school civics curriculum by bringing high school students from around the state to watch a Supreme Court hearing and meet with a justice. Prior to the field trips, teachers receive a variety of teaching materials from the Supreme Court and the State Bar of Wisconsin.

The program brings a total of approximately 1,000 high school students to the Supreme Court during each Court term (September - June).

For more information contact:
Amanda Todd
Court Information Officer
(608) 264-6256

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