Facing the Page

A.D.A. Visits Adult Learning Center to Discuss American Jury System

The Adult Learning Center classes of the NYPL are places where adult students study four hours each week under the guidance of professional staff and volunteers and work on their reading and writing skills at many different levels.

One of the upper level classes at the Aguilar ALC is currently reading the 1954 play Twelve Angry Men in connection with the civics theme this month.    Many of the students in this class were not born in this country and have a keen interest in the American judicial system. 

A.D.A. Ortner speaks to ALC students about the jury system.
A.D.A. Ortner speaks to ALC students about the jury system.

In order to expand their knowledge and understanding of the judicial system, Site Advisor, Elaine Sohn and her volunteer tutors invited Assistant District Attorney Craig Ortner to visit the class and talk about the American judicial system, especially as it pertains to types of crimes in NYC, the roles of defense lawyers and prosecution lawyers, trials, the selection of jurors, and evidence in the jury room, among many other topics.

Students submitted questions in advance to the attorney, and in his presentation, he answered many of them.  He even drew a comparison of the jury deliberation then and now, in a list he titled:  “12 Problems in 12 Angry Men” when compared to jury deliberations today.

Twelve Angry Men, the 1954 drama by Reginald Rose, focused on a jury trial in NYC, when12 men deliberated in the jury room about the guilt or innocence of a young man accused of killing his father with a knife.  The play appeared on the CBS Studio One television series, was later made into a movie starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E. G. Marshall, Martin Balsam, Jack Warden, and Jack Klugman, and was produced on Broadway in 2004.

At the beginning of the deliberations, there is a single dissenter of not-guilty, who throughout the play sows a seed of reasonable doubt among his fellow jurors. Throughout their deliberations, not a single juror calls another by his name since the names are unknown by the jurors, several of the jurors have different reasons for discriminating against the witness, and they almost come to blows with each other as they analyze the evidence and the testimonies. 

Students listen attentively to ADA Ortner
Students listen attentively to A.D.A. Ortner

Some of the questions students submitted in advance to ADA Ortner were:

  • What is the definition of reasonable doubt?
  • Should lawyers be allowed to be on juries?  If not, why not?
  • How does the American legal system differ from the European or Asian legal systems?
  • Since the death penalty is unconstitutional in New York State, do you think there are more crimes?
  • Does a defense attorney defend someone if he or she believes the client to be guilty?  Is it hard to do that?
  • In your opinion, is the jury system a strength or a weakness of the US judicial system? Why?
  • What is the role of the judge in a trial? 
  • What does the US justice system think about the case of somebody who was found not-guilty (because of lack of evidence) but revealed later to be guilty?
  • Can you tell us about the most remarkable case you have ever tried?
  • What do you find most challenging about being an attorney?  
Students' writing prompt!
A Writing Prompt

For the entire session, students listened attentively, raised additional questions, commented on their understanding and engaged in an animated dialogue.   Students expressed such an interest in jury trials that Mr. Ortner explained that trials are open to the public and it is easy to sit in on a trial by going to 110 Centre St and checking the board to determine which trials are going on that day.  Students seemed interested in actually visiting a courtroom!

 Upper Manhattan Hub Manager, Elke Stappert and Upper Manhattan Intake Advisor Richard Buckley also visited the class. The volunteers who devote 4 hours each week working with these students include Matthew Finston, Kathy Legg, Mimi McDermott and Mike Silverman.

Find out more information about classes in the Adult Learning Centers, or visit the Aguilar Adult Learning Center's Facebook page.

Comments

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Quality stuff

I hadn't intended on taking pictures, but when I noticed how spectacularly Deputy Bureau Chief, Craig Ortner, spoke and how appropriately the students remarked to and engaged in conversation, I had to take pictures; this sort of instruction is clever. Thanks, Elaine!

the presentation of Mr Ortner

the presentation of Mr Ortner was great I couldn't imagine that I could have learned so much about US judicial system in only 2 hours and the judicial system of my country is different from the US one. I wanna say thanks to NYPL and specially to Mr Ortner for the time spent with us, I really appreciated it.

What a great program we had

What a great program we had in our class last week when Mr. Ortner came to talk about the American jury system. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn English with a very instructive subject. I am very glad to attend these classes.

I had such a good time on

I had such a good time on Thersday! The experience was amazing! I learned a lot about crime types and what happens before a case goes to a trial. But, for me, the most amazing part was when Craig showed us 12 mistakes in 12 Angry Men, 12 things that could never happened if this case was a real case. I also would like to tell that Ortner's speech was no boring, he was so secure about the subject, showing a lot of knowledge, that I didn't notice that our conversation took 2 hours! It was a different and enriching class. Now I am very curious to check a trial by myself, it would be interesting. Maybe I will do that!

Civics engagement education in the Aguilar Adult Learning Center

Dear Elaine, esteemed students, staff and tutors, I am deeply impressed by the connections made between the reading of the dramatic play, "Twelve Angry Men" and the class visit and discussion with Assistant District Attorney Craig Ortner. This depth of inquiry on so many levels certainly brought to life the judicial process in ways that lead to personalized growth and understanding. The thought provoking questions posed leave me hungry to know more and sorry I was unable to attend. The possibility of visiting a real NYC courtroom as a class trip seems like a wonderful possible follow-up activity. Thanks for organizing and sharing the experience. Ken English

a class trip to a real NYC courtroom

Ken, I'm sure my teacher Elaine saw your comment and she's thinking already about how to organize a class trip to a real NYC courtroom and I can't wait to enjoy a live trial.

A wonderful program

What excellent questions from the students. And what a wonderful introduction to the details of the American judicial system courtesy of Mr. Fonda and Mr. Ortner.

ADA Visit

Really well-written, concise blog post of an amazing opportunity for ADL students to learn first-hand about the American jury system. Great way to extend learning out of the classroom and into the world.

ADA Visit

Really well-written, concise blog post of an amazing opportunity for ADL students to learn first-hand about the American jury system. Great way to extend learning out of the classroom and into the world.

What a terrific presentation

What a terrific presentation we had in our class last week! Mr. Ortner gave us a lot of information about the jury system in the US and the American justice in general. I really enjoyed the speech and I am surprised once again about the quality of this program!

What a great idea!!

First of all, thanks Mr Ortner for your excellent presentation about the judicial system in the United States. It's fabulous to have classes like this one, and to be able to learn English and American culture in such a fantastic way. What a great idea!!

What a great idea!!

First of all, thanks Mr Ortner for your excellent presentation about the judicial system in the United States. It's fabulous to have classes like this one, and to be able to learn English and American culture in such a fantastic way. What a great idea!!

NYLPL programs are really complete !!

I learned so much from this visit by Mr. Ortner including one of the main feature of the American criminal justice system : the plea bargaining! Thanks to Mr Ortner for this instructive presentation and thanks to my dear teacher Elaine for this wonderful oportunity. In two hours we improved a lot of skills: listening (carefully to Mr Ortner), writing (by taking a lot of notes!) and speaking (by asking questions!). In addition, we increased our knowledge of American justice system!

Amazing experiences !!!

Personally it was a great program we had in our class last week by the visit and discussion with the Assistant District Attorney Craig Ortner. I really appreciate the presentation, the experience was amazing. I learned so much from this visit, first of all the relationship existing between our actual reading in class the ‘’12 Angry Men’’ and the presentation of Mr. Craig about the American legal system; it was like the continuity of our course. Second it was an extraordinary way to learn English and the American culture. Third as a fan of police and justice series, through this session I saw my knowledge and understanding about justice system growth. I saw how my country legal system process is a little different from the American legal; the role of a juror in a trial; the roles of defense and prosecution lawyers. So thanks a lot to Arguilar Learning Center program staff.

What a impressive presentation!

I am so lucky to take the presentation about law system given by Mr. Ortner. I am surprised that Mr. Ortner had a good memory to remember every questions we asked during the presentation and was so great to make an arrangement to answer every question after the related knowledge. It is a pity that time was limited. I am happy that Mr. Ortner shared his feelings about the movie "Twelve Angry Men" with us, which I had never thought about. And I also got interested in taking part in a real trial. Hope I will have the opportunity someday. Thank Mr. Ortner!

What an impressive presentation!

I am so lucky to take the presentation about law system given by Mr. Ortner. I am surprised that Mr. Ortner had a good memory to remember every questions we asked during the presentation and was so great to make an arrangement to answer every question after the related knowledge. It is a pity that time was limited. I am happy that Mr. Ortner shared his feelings about the movie "Twelve Angry Men" with us, which I had never thought about. And I also got interested in taking part in a real trial. Hope I will have the opportunity someday. Thank Mr. Ortner!
I'm a student at the Adult Learning Center with teacher Elaine. I was so excited about Mr. Ortner presentation, and finally after he finish it, I can truly say it exceeded my expectations! We learn so much about New York legal system and the importance of every part of this enormous legal machinery. Every part has to know his place and do their job, so justice can be made. The attorneys, the judges, the jurors (the real people, our peers), the cops, the witnesses, everyone has to commit to the facts and reveal the truth, so justice can be part of our days. Thank you to Mrs. Elaine, the volunteers and of course Mr. Ortner for all they have taught us.

What an impressive presentation!

I am so lucky to take the presentation about the law system in New York State given by Mr. Ortner. I was surprised that he had a good memory to remember every question we asked during the presentation and was so great to answer questions after the related knowledge. He also shared his feelings about the movie "Twelve Angry Men", which I had never thought about. I got interested in taking part in a real trial. Hope I will have the opportunity some day. Thanks, Mr. Ortner!

Jury System

The Adult Learning Center at the NYPL, Read and English classes has challenge me to read more, correct my grammar, listen in a classroom setting and interact with people of different cultures. Great program. Last Thursday, Mr Ortner ADA visited our classroom giving an presentation about our right to a jury trial in the United States, the presentation was very informative. I left the class knowing the anatomy of a jury trial.

Expactation to the next

I read the comments and expect the next opportunity. Actually I am the Business law professor of Shanghai University, and right now I am the foreign legal consultant working in New York. We might be exchanging the experience in the law practice both benefit the people of Sino-American.