Lowell — It was the perfect culmination of any high school government class: witnessing Michigan’s six sitting Supreme Court justices hear oral arguments in a real case in the Lowell High School auditorium.
Last week, justices from the highest court in the state walked onto the stage and sat down at a makeshift bench in front of attorney for plaintiff-appellee Zachary Stempien, attorney for defendant-appellant Charles Covell, and hundreds of students, educators and community members.
The court took its proceedings outside the Michigan Hall of Justice in Lansing and came to Lowell as part of the Court Community Connections program, which encourages community engagement and helps people, particularly high school students, learn about the appellate courts and Michigan’s judicial system. In attendance were students from Lowell, Cedar Springs, Sparta, Forest Hills and other area schools.
‘We love to have the kids see what we are doing in real life. The best part is talking to them afterwards — how astute they are, how much they observe and their thoughts.’
— Justice Elizabeth Welch
The court tries to visit as many parts of the state as possible, according to Stacy Sellek, MSC public information manager. Also, the court’s Chief Operating Officer Daniel Brubaker is a former Lowell Area Schools Board of Education member and Lowell parent.
“This is a unique opportunity to witness the judicial system in action,” said Chief Judge Deborah McNabb, from the Kent County 17th Circuit Court, during opening remarks. “These are actual oral arguments… that will have a real impact on real lives.”
The case concerned whether a factor in sentencing, called offense variable 19, was applied at the right level in the 2024 case People of MI v Curtis Allen Morris. OV 19 is applied depending on a defendant’s conduct in felony cases; in this case, it was applied at the maximum level.
In front of the audience gathered in Lowell, justices listened to arguments from both attorneys and asked questions, participating in back-and-forth discussion about the details of the case. Following these oral arguments, the court will deliberate before making an opinion at a later date.
Justice in Action
During a special debriefing section in front of the attorneys following the hearing, students asked questions about the intricacies of the case, the Supreme Court in general, and the judicial process.
Senior Braelyn Spivey asked a question about precedent in the case.
“I want to be a lawyer, so I thought it was really interesting and I thought it was really cool that we could ask questions of the attorneys,” she said following the session. “Just listening to the verbal arguments and how it was set up and the procedure was really interesting.”
Many students prepared for the event during a visit to Lowell on April 15 from Brubaker and Commissioner Liza Moore. Students learned the details of the case, explored key constitutional questions and learned what to expect during the proceedings.
Lowell High School AP Government teacher Landon Graham, whose classroom Brubaker and Moore visited, said along with preparing for the case, his classes have learned about the judicial system and participated in a simulation of the Supreme Court earlier this school year.
“I think this was a great opportunity for kids to see that the things we talk about in class are actually real with real consequences and real outcomes,” Graham said following the hearing. “We spend a lot of time on legal precedent so kids have an understanding of what it is. Already some of them have come to me and were making the connection of, ‘So, depending on the decision made here, that’s going to have an impact on not just the defendant but future defendants down the road.’”
Students also got to meet the justices during a reception following the hearing. Justice Elizabeth Welch chatted with Lowell High School seniors Ava Halfmann, Hannah Fickinger, Leah Krieger and RJ Wagmon.
“We love to have the kids see what we are doing in real life. The best part is talking to them afterwards — how astute they are, how much they observe and their thoughts. It’s really fun,” said Welch, a former vice president on the East Grand Rapids Public Schools Board of Education. “Our goal is not only to encourage people that the law is a future profession but also to just understand this branch of government and the work they are doing.”
It was a great example of real life learning, students said.
“You hear about it all the time, but to see it live really connected the dots,” Leah said.
“It was definitely interesting hearing them ask the questions because they aren’t on a set script, so it’s interesting hearing the back and forth when the justices were asking questions,” said Hannah.
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