Legal team gets 'bearish' with mock trial

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kevin Clites
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – The verdict is in – Mrs. Gold E. Locks is not guilty.

A jury at Wichita Falls Independent School District’s Haynes Northwest Academy heard arguments that would determine the innocence or guilt of the young lady with golden locks of hair guilty May 11, 2018. Her charges? Breaking, entering and having bad manners.

82nd Training Wing Judge Advocate Capt. Richard Ham arraigned the defendant.

Judge Advocate mock trial

Capt. Richard Ham, left, watches as Capt. Kirsten Thompson, a.k.a. Gold E. Locks, testifies about the porridge she ate at the Bears’ house while Tech. Sgt. Jazika Levario and Tech. Sgt. Keisha Bogard watch at Haynes Northwest Academy in Wichita Falls, Texas, May 11, 2018. Members of the 82nd Training Wing Judge Advocate office went to the school to provide a little glimpse into a legal proceeding as part of Law Day. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kevin Clites)
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The mock trial was organized by the 82nd TRW Judge Advocate office to teach students about the law by having a hearing in which the students could participate. Because first experiences with the law can often be negative and, at the very least, confusing, this event was designed to give a positive and engaging first experience.

“We, of course, could just brief the children on the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice), but people often have a negative association with attorneys and the law,” said 82nd TRW Staff Judge Advocate Lt. Col. Michelle Quitugua. “So instead, we decided to give the children something that would allow them to experience the law in a way that’s fun and memorable.”

To do this, different members of the law office had to get into character. Capt. Kristen Thompson played Gold E. Locks, and Tech. Sgt. Keisha Bogard represented her as the defense attorney.

Meanwhile, Tech. Sgt. Jazika Levario was the prosecuting attorney, representing the Bear family played by Tech. Sgt. RoseAnne Dundon, a.k.a. Mom A. Bear; Maj. John Grimes, a.k.a. Pop A. Bear; and Laurence Joseph Whitney, a.k.a. Babe E. Bear.

Airman 1st Class Anthony Williams served as the court bailiff.

Although there was always order in the courtroom, children did laugh, gasp and watch with rapture as the courtroom proceeding unfolded. In the end, it was the children who acted as the jury, finding Lock not guilty of the offenses.