I’d like to share a funny, but true story, with everyone. I went on a field trip with my son’s 3rd grade class (this was many years ago) to the Prescott Courthouse. The Prescott Courthouse resides on historical Whiskey Row in downtown Prescott, and has a rich history. Maybe some of you know that Prescott used to be the capital of Arizona.
We entered the courthouse, made our way through security and entered an official courtroom. We sat and waited quite some time for a judge to come address us, however, he was too busy and eventually one of the clerks started rattling off information. The room was very loud and it was explained that this courtroom at one point had been soundproofed, but had been painted over, not realizing that the soundproofing would be ruined. The weird looking metal racks on each chair – did anybody have a guess as to what those were for? No we didn’t. We were told they were hat racks used by cowboys. Odd. . .
The children were incredibly giddy and the clerk allowed them full range of the room, including the use of the gavel and the microphone. They really had a lot of fun. A lot of us moms noticed all the pictures of the previous judges going back decades were all men, except for one woman, and that her picture frame was noticeably smaller than all the others. We were sure this was some form of chauvinism and inquired about it. The clerk informed us that the judges pick their own picture frames and therefore picture sizes, including this more recent woman judge. So much for our theory. . .
Next we moved outside to the large courtyard, which completely surrounds the courthouse. There are many statues with plaques full of interesting historical information. The children were all given a sheet of questions which they were supposed to answer by moving around the grounds and reading said plaques. I was placed in charge of approximately ten children and we were just making our way to the back of the building when 2 large white vans pulled up. The next thing I know there are numerous people wearing bright orange jump suits leaving the van and making their way to a back door. There are men and women, shackled to each other by means of ankle chains, and each had handcuffs in front. I can’t recall what their jumpsuits said in bold letters, but I believe it was “Detainees” or “Awaiting Arraignment” or something to that effect. Guards were about, with their guns at the ready, and of course they were wearing the requisite sunglasses.
This all happened so quickly that before I could barely assess the situation, I heard some of the kids yell “Oh, look” and they ran straight toward the “detainees” and started taking pictures. Now some of these people looked very hardened, while others looked horribly downtrodden. Perhaps they hadn’t showered in weeks. I saw sullen looks, embarrassed looks, and eyes-with-daggers looks. I yelled, “Hey kids, No!! Come back!” It was a sight they obviously had never seen before (nor had I, but I would have preferred to watch from afar). I explained to the children that this was probably horribly embarrassing for these people to be paraded in public, even if only for 20 yards, and that I’m sure they didn’t appreciate the additional humiliation of being photographed by excited little children as if they were in a zoo pen. I didn’t discuss the questionable judgment of running towards hardened criminals, or running towards armed guards. Hopefully they’ll learn that on another field trip.