This weekend, I said goodbye to one of my greatest passions: pretending to be a witness in fake court.
For the last four years, I’ve been a member of the Mock Trial team here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Together, we’ve traveled across the country competing against students from other universities portraying witnesses and attorneys in fictional cases written by the American Mock Trial Association, often judged by real-life attorneys and judges.
In my time with the program, we’ve tried everything from air crash negligence to aggravated arson, developing skills in trial advocacy along the way. As competitors, we familiarize ourselves with the intricacies of the federal rules of evidence to prepare for objection battles, develop detailed case theories, craft compelling witness examinations and deliver moving closing arguments.
But if my time as a member of the Mock Trial community has taught me anything, it’s this: everyone deserves access to a basic legal education. Why? Because the law is confusing, and all too often we’re led to believe we know a lot more about it than we do.
Whether or not you plan on heading to law school or end up with an “incarceration, conviction or arrest record” like one in every three American adults, you interact with the law every day. You deserve to have a basic understanding of it.
Think about your walk to class for example: as you head out the door, you probably walk through an intersection or two, before climbing a few steps or taking a ramp to enter a campus building. When you cross the street, you probably don’t think too much about Wisconsin Pedestrian Laws that can be used to evaluate fault in the event of an accident. As you climb the stairs or take a ramp, if you’re able-bodied, I’m guessing chapter 4 of the Americans with Disability Act mandating the basic standard for accessible entrances doesn’t cross your mind.
The truth is, not even legal professionals know all the rules working behind the scenes to keep our lives running smoothly. But in a matter of moments, anyone at any time can find themselves in a situation where one of those small rules can turn their lives upside down.
Unfortunately, most Americans find themselves in a legal dispute at some point in their adult lives, with two-thirds of Americans experiencing some legal problem in the last four years. In 2021 for example, nearly three out of four low-income American households were involved in a “civil legal problem,” ranging from “consumer issues” to “health care” disputes and difficulties with “housing.”
Despite just how common legal issues are for American households, too many people have a limited or incomplete understanding of the basics of the justice system.
I am no exception.
When I first stepped foot on campus as a bright-eyed pre-law freshman, I thought I knew a lot more than I did. The law had always been a passion of mine, and in my free time, I poured over any legal media I could consume. But the more I was exposed to, the more I realized how limited, and in some cases incorrect, my knowledge was.
My perceptions of the law, and my understanding of what makes a good advocate all came from the legal media I grew up on. But the truth is, despite what “Law and Order” might lead you to believe, jury trials are overrepresented in the media as a method of legal dispute resolution — making up “less than two percent of federal criminal cases.” In the rare event that cases make it to trial, the impact of media on legal misinformation is often on full display.
In the media, sensationalized stories of “frivolous” lawsuits — like the famous McDonald's “hot coffee case” — take on a life of their own, obscuring the truth of the central legal matter in the process. High-profile cases involving celebrities — like Depp v. Heard — bring with them an onslaught of misinformed commentary on social media about everything from legal strategy to the basic function of a trial. Without a legal background, it can feel nearly impossible to decipher fact from fiction in representations of the justice system in the media.
The truth is, most of us will have to deal with the justice system at one point or another, and our experience is unlikely to match what we see on TV. Whether it’s something you think of daily, when you want to or only when you’re forced to, the law is something we all have to deal with.
It’s no secret that the law is a complicated endeavor. But you shouldn’t have to dedicate years of study to develop a basic understanding of your entitled rights, protections and freedoms: you deserve access to a basic legal education.
Blake Martin is an opinion editor for the Daily Cardinal. He is a senior studying english and political science. Do you agree that everyone deserves access to a basic legal education? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com
Blake Martin is the opinions editor for The Daily Cardinal.
