Dressed in professional attire, Mountain Middle School students filled the halls of the La Plata County Courthouse on Thursday, prepared to put legendary frontiersman Kit Carson on trial for mass murder.
MMS eighth graders took on the roles of witnesses, prosecutors and defense attorneys – the culmination of several months spent studying law, public speaking and westward expansion in their humanities class.
“It's an extraordinary project, and we have a great partnership with the La Plata County Courthouse,” said Shane Voss, executive director of MMS. “It's a privilege to be able to do this with our kids. It's a transformative experience for them.”
Drawing from “Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West,” a nonfiction book about the 19th-century transformation of the West, students analyzed the complex consequences of Kit Carson’s actions and the concept of manifest destiny using legal arguments.
Voss said students received guidance from judges, district attorneys and other community experts as they prepared.
Local attorneys Christian Champagne and David Ottman helped by serving as judges for the trials.
“Their help made the whole thing go very smoothly,” said MMS eighth grade humanities teacher Kyle Hilding.
Humanities class at Mountain Middle School combines social studies and English. Voss said the mock trial project is one of the most effective ways for students to practice and demonstrate mastery of both subjects together.
While students have participated in mock trials for years, Hilding said this was only the second time a jury was involved. He said the competitive element added excitement, and his students were more engaged because of it.
“They really did care about what was going on, and they also talked about it outside of class – at recess, at lunch,” he said.
The first trial started at 4:30 p.m. in Division 1, where a jury was chosen from the audience of parents and siblings.
Poised and prepared, student attorneys sat at their respective tables, files spread before them.
The prosecution, representing the mock state of New Mexico, argued that Carson was responsible for the mass murder of Native Americans in the Four Corners.
The defense countered that Carson was not a murderer but a military officer carrying out necessary actions during wartime, arguing that he tried to preserve as many lives as possible.
Throughout the hourlong trial, students took notes as witnesses were sworn in and questioned on the stand.
The cast of historical figures who testified included U.S. Army soldiers under Carson’s command, U.S. Army Gen. James Carleton, and Carson himself.
Students playing the characters were well prepared, able to answer questions about the sequence of events and their interpretation of Carson’s character.
Judge Ottman issued only a single admonishment to the young lawyers, asking if a particularly lengthy statement was going to include a question for the witness on the stand – a common query heard in a real courtroom.
Hilding said he was impressed by his students’ performances.
“I'm amazed at how advanced some of the kids are in their arguments,” he said. “It was a huge success.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
