2023/10. FAMILY TRIALS (the best kind)

A PHOTOGRAPHIC TALE.

The Honorable David M Connors will be retiring from his judicial seat this month. This pivotal life moment has been in the distant future for so long that I think we became complacent. Now we are stunned by the speed at which it seems to be hurling at us. Knowing we would not have access to his courtroom after he steps down from the bench, I had a  flash of inspiration, aka ridiculous idea, that we should hold a mock trial in his courtroom with all our grandkids. It would give Dave a chance to show what he has been doing for the last 15 years, and at the same time teach our family about how the judicial system works. 

In a matter of days we went from "wouldn't it be fun" to "well, that was awesome!"

When you decide to do something ridiculous I've found it is sometimes most effective to just go ahead and send out the invitation and take it from there. 

So, that's what I did:

Each participant was summoned to court.

Then I started hearing the voice of Freddie Mercury throbbing in my head..."Pressure, pushing' down on me, Pressing' down on you...."

We had less than a week to make a plan. Since Friday night was Timo's performance of Dvoraks New World Symphony, we decided to replace our traditional monthly First Friday grandkids activity with a First Saturday event with no sleep over (which in hindsight was a good idea because as soon we were done last night I collapsed in bed.)

What we did Friday: Lyceum Youth Symphony
That's Timo at the Timpanis on the left.

Now, let's create a mock trial!

"I'm a writer." I told myself, "I'll just write a script." I told myself.  

"In your spare time?" Myself told me.

Google came through again, taking me to a website where teachers sell to other teachers things they've already created. It's a great concept, one I've been trying to sell to fellow church leaders the last number of years. That's where I found the script for a young peoples' mock trial.

THE STATE vs. WOLFIE T. BADD

Each kid got a copy of the Readers Theater
with their parts highlighted. 

With a little doctoring of the script we had enough parts for all the kids to play the major roles. 

Costumes around the jury table.

Gumpa gives his robes and his seat to his granddaughter
then teaches us a little about the blessed processes of the judiciary.

Sophie plays Woflie with ATTITUDE!
Joe plays Porky E. Pig, her attorney

Calvin and Walter were Bailiffs.
When Cal decided to be a juror (in the back) Johnny
traded him roles. Auntie Kate got to join us
from New York via WebEx. Yay!
(It looks to me like that little Bailiff is handcuffing himself.)

Lil Red (Gracie) and Granny (Beth)
have to stand on their tippy toes to reach the podium.

Apparently the Bailiffs found something amusing.
And it looks like Auntie Kate did, too.

Wolfie gets a little carried away as a witness.

Judge Ruby Connors, looking an awful lot like
 the court Bailiff, isn't taking any gruff

Ms. Vi O. Lett makes her case for the State.
(Quincey)

Meanwhile the witnesses are goofing off in the gallery.

Sarah played the part of the court illustrator

When Timo had to work late and couldn't get there in time,
Libby took the part of Wood S Mann. She nailed it.

Wolfie's cousin, Alex T Wolf, doesn't help Wolfie's case.
(Parker had an awesome wolfish growl)

The woodsman tries to befriend a wolf.
Court photographer, Annie, in the background.

Granny (Beth) hobbles from the witness stand.

Attorney Daffy E Dill (Anna)
tries to get to the bottom of things.

.

Prosecuting attorneys.
(Anna & Quincey)

Capable and trustworthy court clerks
Jonah and Tessa

...with official Clerk badges.

Granny has a hard time being serious (Beth)
I don't blame her, she is wearing
my mom's old house robe and my shower cap,.

Porky E Pig giving his closing statement.

Wolfie tells his side of the story (Sophie)

Lil Red was a most excellent witness.
(Gracie)

Keeping order in the court. We only had to change the first
name on the judge's name plate.
(Ruby)

The grown-ups are the jury.

Wolfie is escorted from court
while the jury deliberates in the jury room

Bailiff Walter announces
that the jury has reached a verdict.

In the end the attorney for the defendant prevailed and Wolfie T. Bad was found innocent on account of him already being friends with Granny AND Lil Red. The whole fairy tale was just a practical joke Granny and Wolfie conjured up to play on Lil Red. 

Wolfie and Alex celebrate the not guilty verdict!

Two generations of Bailiffs
(John and Walt)

All's well that ends well.

Pizza in the jury room, for which I took no photos, and a tour of Gumpa's chambers:

Gumpa's chambers haven't looked so tidy
since the day he took the bench 15 years ago.

The boys loved looking at old photos in Gumpa's chambers.
This one is of Great Grandpa Connors, Gumpa and
Johnny when he played ball for Davis High.

As I said, I collapsed when I got home, mostly because I had stayed up till 5 AM that day getting everything ready. This kind of stuff has been my mode of operation my whole life. But I'm afraid my poor old bones are rebelling. No matter, because the memory was worth all of it!