Tuesday, May 6, 2003 | 8:54 a.m.
As the uproarious crowd poured into the gallery, 9-year-old Vivek Venkatesh turned to his friend and quizzically asked, "This is a courtroom?"
Indeed it was. But for the next two hours it would be host to a well-rehearsed fete of fairy-tale characters plucked from storybook pages to partake in a speedy trial before their peers.
Ahead would be the high drama of Goldilocks, whose "bad manners" rather than the more serious charge of breaking and entering would be on trial.
Following were the contemptuous arguments in Big Bad Wolf v. The Three Little Pigs. The known stalker, kidnapper and murderer sued the third of the three pigs for "attempted wolf cooking."
To some, the charges were an outrage.
But for Nik Piazza, the wolf's attorney, it was a long-awaited moment. Times have changed, Piazza said. So should the fate of the wolf.
"In all the little pig stories the wolf gets killed," Piazza explained. "I don't want the wolf to be cooked. I want the pig to be guilty. I want the wolf to win."
That these third graders from Las Vegas Day School had been bused to the Clark County Courthouse Wednesday was serious business. The courtroom of Judge Nancy Oesterle was in their hands.
The American Bar Association provided scripts for their mock trials. Official jury summons had been mailed to juror's homes, lines were rehearsed and costumes were made.
Jurors, attorneys, bailiffs, clerks and witnesses came dressed as fairy-tale favorites, among them Robin Hood, Little Bo Peep, the Queen of Hearts and the Little Engine that Could.
"We decided since it was a trial with fairy-tale characters in it, we'd have fairy-tale characters as their peers," third grade teacher Anne Middleton said before the trials.
The event, celebrated the day before Law Day, was a collaborative effort between Oesterle and Las Vegas Day School teachers, Middleton and Sue Mowbray, and designed to enhanced their instruction of the judicial process.
Trials were played out perfectly. Students auditioned for various parts. Judges and attorneys attended their classrooms to help students prepare.
All but the verdicts were included in the scripts. Snacks and beverages were distributed to sustain the jury through deliberations.
During opening statements in the wolf trial, the wolf's attorney accused the pig of acting with intent to cook the wolf (who, for the trial, was dressed in sheep's clothing) when he removed the lid to the cauldron of boiling water.
Defense attorneys argued the pig's actions were in self-defense.
Witness testimony included that of Jill Smith (Elyssa Carvalho), who had sold building materials to all three pig brothers. Smith stated the wolf had blown down two of the pigs' homes, then ate the pigs.
She also accused the wolf of harassing Little Red Riding Hood, drawing strong objection by Piazza, who claimed Little Red Riding Hood was "completely irrelevant to the case at hand."
Jurors debated no longer than 15 minutes. Despite allegations of a Poached Wolf recipe found in the pig's kitchen, the pig would be found not guilty.
"It was a hard decision," 9-year-old juror Rachel Korbel said. "We had to vote three times."
Duncan Wilson (who played the pig) said the charges were never even fair.
"My cauldron was in my house," Wilson said. "When he's climbing down the chimney of my house, I have the right to boil him."
So, there was intent?
"No," Wilson said. "But when climbing down someone else's chimney, you have the risk of being boiled."
Martin Suman, the pig's attorney, said he plans to countersue the wolf for harassment and trespassing.
Kangaroo court
Turning the courtroom over to third graders was not atypical for Oesterle, a zealous promoter of the judicial branch whose Keys to the Courthouse program includes weekly visits to elementary school classrooms, followed by the chance to observe a session in her courtroom.
This was Oesterle's first attempt at mock trials. She said she plans to host them annually.
"The kids were just fabulous," Oesterle said. "They really were excited. They saw how much goes into it. They're not going to forget this."
The ABA's Division for Public Education began creating the mock trials roughly 10 years ago as a way for school children to gain trial experience.
In addition to the The Three Bears v. Goldilocks and The Big Bad Wolf v. The Three Little Pigs, the ABA provides mock trials "Wicked Witch v. Snow White" and "Cinderella v. Estate of Padre Mia Tremaine."
Trials available for students in grades seven through 12 include a lawsuit brought against a school system who refused a high-school girl the chance to try out for a boys' soccer team.
An educational malpractice trial is one of several trials offered to students in grades 10 through 12.
"It's really trying to impress the role of law in school," said John Mowbray, local attorney and past president of the Nevada State Bar Association.
"They can experience this firsthand by participating in our processes. They can see firsthand how our justice system works. It provides a great foundation for their subsequent studies."
Third grade teacher Sue Mowbray said her students study all three branches of the U.S. government, and the mock trials will likely leave a more lasting impression than class studies of law.
"They understand the role of the jury, the judge, the importance of the public defender and the importance of the prosecutor -- and their role as a citizen," Mowbray said.
Unbalanced jury?
The students also understand the importance of a balanced jury.
In "The Three Bears v. Goldilocks," attorneys for both parties agreed the trial was a shoo-in based on a jury composed mainly of boys who would naturally "vote" against a girl.
"Most of the jurors are boys and they don't like Goldilocks," the confident prosecuting attorney, Blake Muscelli, explained.
But, Muscelli added, "She's guilty because it's breaking and entering. It's their house. She shouldn't be there anyway."
Defense attorneys argued that "Gold E. Locks' " alleged bad manners were merely a misunderstanding, and that Baby Bear had on prior occasions invited the young blonde to his home in the Summerlin forest.
Gold E. Locks (Alexandra Chingros) admitted eating soup, breaking a chair and sleeping in their beds.
But she claimed she accidentally broke the chair while waiting to thank them for the porridge, then slept in their beds while waiting to apologize for breaking the chair.
Her mother served as a character witness. A broken chair, empty bowls of porridge and a pillow with a golden hair were used as evidence.
"She's not guilty," defense attorney Natalie Gabriel said while awaiting the outcome of the jury. "The door was open. She's only 4 years old and she waited for the people to thank them."
But in the end, the jury would side with Muscelli and the Bears, a verdict that would send gasps and shrieks throughout the courtroom.
"I wish I could object now," Gabriel said to her client, adding later that she would like to appeal the ruling.
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