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The Court of Appeals of Indiana is partnering with the Indiana Bar Foundation next week to host “Behind the Curtain: The Judicial Branch,” a civics program designed for Indiana teachers.
Along with having an oral argument on Sept. 27, the appellate court will be hosting sessions all day with social studies teachers from around the state.
Anne Fuchs, director of communications for the COA, said the idea for the event came about after the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation mandating civics education in 2021.
The appellate court partnered with the bar foundation to brainstorm ways to support the Legislature’s initiative, she said, and that’s how “Behind the Curtain” was born.
“As we got talking, we realized that what might be the most powerful and the most impactful would be if we put on a day of civics education activities just for teachers and empower teachers with hands-on experience and full knowledge about the very thing that they’re going to be teaching others about,” Fuchs said.
The day will start with a session on the judicial branch and appellate processes, featuring COA Chief Judge Robert Altice.
Next, the teachers will get a case overview with Jessica Ballard-Barnett, a judicial law clerk.
The case to be heard Sept. 27 — James Ramsey v. State of Indiana, 22A-CR-2877 — involves a defendant who is claiming a trial court abused its discretion when it admitted evidence found in his vehicle following a traffic stop.
The defendant, James Ramsey, was convicted of Level 2 felony dealing in methamphetamine, Level 6 felony possession of methamphetamine and Class C misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia. He is arguing on appeal that the duration of the traffic stop and subsequent search violated the Fourth Amendment and Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.
In response, the state is arguing that the trial court didn’t abuse its discretion because the officer had reasonable suspicion based on the totality of the circumstances to prolong the duration of the traffic stop to continue his investigation of Ramsey and his vehicle.
Altice, May and Judge Elizabeth Tavitas will hear arguments in the case at 10 a.m. in the Court of Appeals Courtroom in the Statehouse.
After the oral arguments, there will be a debrief with attorneys Catherine Brizzi with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office and Zach Stock with the Indiana Public Defender Council.
After a break and lunch with the judges, the teachers will get a behind-the-scenes tour of the Indiana Statehouse.
Lastly, they will participate in civics games with Judge Leanna Weissmann, then discuss lesson plans and resources before heading home.
Fuchs said she is hopeful it will be an impactful event.
She added that the event is the “brainchild” of Tim Kalgreen, director of civic education for the Indiana Bar Foundation.
Kalgreen said the foundation is always looking for innovative ways to help teachers better understand constitutional government, and an event like this one is a great way to do that.
“Partnering up with the Court of Appeals, we were able to create kind of an immersive experience to bring our teachers and so we’re really excited,” he said.
He added that they have about 15 teachers signed up but are still spreading the word and hope more can attend. He explained that the foundation estimates each teacher is responsible for about 125 students, so almost 2,000 students across the state may be affected.
Both Fuchs and Kalgreen said they hope it catches on and they can repeat the event again next year. They added that teachers are traveling from all ends of the state to participate in the event.
“We’re really hopeful that it’s impactful for the social studies teachers, and we’d really love to continue doing it,” Fuchs said.
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