7th & 8th Grade Visit to the Courthouse

Our 7th and 8th graders had the awesome opportunity to witness their local government in action by visiting the Loudoun County Courthouse in downtown Leesburg.  After students passed through the security checkpoint, they were escorted to a courtroom where they were introduced to Loudoun County judges and various players in a functioning courtroom.  After an informative interview with two knowledgeable and friendly sheriffs, the students got to experience live court proceedings, witnessing the preliminary hearing and bench trial (cases without juries) process for a variety of felony and misdemeanor cases in traffic and circuit court.  After the excitement of this (and it was pretty amazing!), students were directed to the "upper court" where they met with Judge Snow and his staff to explore a jury courtroom. We even got a brief walk-through of the holding cells!  It was an impactful learning experience for our students and an excellent chance for them to show off some of their Civics knowledge.  Many thanks to all those at the Loudoun County Courthouse who helped make this such an exceptional experience.