Lakeland students tour Kootenai County justice system

COEUR d'ALENE — Students from Lakeland High School received a behind-the-scenes look Monday of how the justice system operates at the Kootenai County Courthouse.

The group — 16 freshman and sophomores — is enrolled in an elective course entitled "Law and Order," which gives students a look at the legal system in the United States. Nick Haynes, who teaches the course at Lakeland, told The Press he has been taking his classes to the courthouse for several years after being contacted by Kinzo Mihara, a private-practice civil attorney who, at the time, was reaching out to schools in the area about giving students a firsthand look at the legal process.

"We jumped right on it," Haynes said. "When they are in class they just hear about the process and do mock trials. But here they see the whole, real process in person. It's a wonderful experience for them, and for some it might spark a passion that turns into a career pursuit."

Students began their day at the courthouse like most citizens, with a security screening from the courthouse security staff. Once they were all cleared, the students went up to Courtroom No. 9, where they were joined by representatives from the prosecutor and public defender's offices, as well as a bailiff and a judge.

After hearing a brief summary of how each speaker ended up in their current professional role, and what their jobs entail, students had the opportunity to ask questions.

One student asked Kootenai County District Court Judge Rich Christensen how many cases he has tried over the course of his career. The grand total being too large a number to properly assess, Christensen answered that his typical caseload has him overseeing anywhere from 150 to 200 cases at a time.

Following Christensen's discussion with students, Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh took the floor and began by telling students about how he ended up practicing law. McHugh also encouraged the students to ask as many questions as possible.

"I want to to try to get to the issues that you are curious about," McHugh said.

Taking McHugh's encouragement to heart, one student began the questioning by asking the prosecutor about which cases he's worked on throughout his career were the most interesting to him. McHugh said there were several, and began by discussing the first case he prosecuted — involving wiretapping — while he worked for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"It was the first time in my career I had ever worked with the FBI," he said. "There were a large number of individuals involved, and a large volume of information I got to go through."

McHugh also discussed the local CoiNuts case, which he said garnered a lot of attention from residents and brought up ideas of debtors prisons from the pre-colonial days in England.

"We have to prove in these cases that the person intended to steal money at the time they received it," McHugh said. "That's very difficult to prove and someone with a business can say 'I really did intend to do what I said.' It generated a lot of frustration from people who had money taken and wanted people punished with jail for it."

Once students had finished asking McHugh questions, Kootenai County Deputy Public Defender Jay Logsdon discussed how his office operates, and its role in defending individuals who are charged with crimes and cannot afford legal counsel.

"We're kind of the flip side of the coin of what the prosecutor's office does," Logsdon said. "The best part of the job is just fighting all the time — if you don't like fighting you probably shouldn't do this. The worst part is wearing a wool suit during the summer."

One student asked Logsdon if his office keeps a record of wins and losses. Logsdon said there isn't really a board with a tally on it, and it wouldn't feel right to claim a win if, for instance, a powdery substance found on a suspect turned out to be baking powder instead of narcotics.

"And if there was a board it would be sad because I'm pretty sure the prosecutors would have like 20,000 wins to our 600," he added.

Another student asked Logsdon if the individuals he represents are bound and gagged when he goes to discuss their cases. Logsdon stressed that his clients are human beings who are innocent until proven guilty, and need to be treated as such.

"If I showed up and said 'I'm afraid of you,' how would that make you feel," Logsdon asked. "You can't treat people like animals and defend them at the same time."

After the question and answer session concluded, the students ate lunch in a jury room where they had more time to discuss aspects of the justice system with professionals. They ended their trip by attending first appearances, where individuals charged with crimes have their first court hearing and are told what charges they face, as well as what their bail amount is.