(Annapolis, MD — April 3, 2008) The Anne Arundel County District Court is bringing high school students to court with the hope that they will never see them there as defendants. On Wednesday, April 9, approximately 130 students from Chesapeake and Old Mill senior high schools will visit the District Court in Annapolis for Schools in the Court, a program that shows them real-life consequences of making wrong choices.

During the Schools in the Court program, students will get an up-close view of the state’s justice system in action and learn about the legal and personal costs of speeding, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, drug use, and other crimes.

“We want these students to understand first-hand not only how the legal system works, but also how making wrong choices can deeply and adversely impact their lives,” said Judge Danielle Marie Mosley, who is leading the event. “The students will see real defendants – many times not much older than themselves – hear the charges and the facts, and learn the outcome, including watching people being handcuffed and led to jail. Because it happens right in front of the students, it tends to get their attention.”

In addition to watching criminal cases, the students will hear from victims and people who have been convicted of drinking and driving. They will learn about the legal and financial consequences of being charged with drunk driving, and meet with a representative from Maryland’s Shock Trauma Center. They will also meet Chief Judge Ben C. Clyburn of the District Court of Maryland and Anne Arundel County Public Schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell.

The Anne Arundel County District Court holds Schools in the Court twice each year. The program was started in 2001 by Anne Arundel County District Judge Vincent Mulieri, who retired last year after hosting 10 sessions of the unique program. Judge Mosley will be joined by Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Michael Wachs, who led the program last November as a District Court judge.

The Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) Board of Education will tape the program to air on Anne Arundel County Public Schools Television Channel 96 on both the Comcast and Millennium cable systems. Broadcast times will be posted at www.aacps.org.

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(Editor’s Note: Schools in the Court will be held from 8:30 a.m. to approximately noon on Wednesday, April 9, in the Anne Arundel County District Court, 251 Rowe Boulevard, Annapolis. Members of the media are encouraged to attend. Please contact the Court Information Office at (410) 260-1488 in advance if you want to attend or have questions about when and where cameras will be permitted.)