West Roxbury District Courthouse

The 5th grade class went to the West Roxbury District Courthouse. First Mr. Guinta came to the class and explained to us about making good choices. He taught us about "joint venture". Joint venture is when someone is with you and they commit a crime. You get in trouble just as much as the person who does the crime because you were with them.
When we arrived at the courthouse we met Judge Coffey, Mr. Guinta, Mr. Richie, and multiple court officers. First we sat in the fourth session, we saw a video about bullying, and we talked about it. We went to several pre-trials. We saw a hearing about two men who used a stolen EBT card to buy two porter house steaks at American Food Basket. We also saw a hearing for a man who was accused of carrying an unlicensed gun, with drugs and alcohol in a vehicle. The last thing we did was go to see the jail cells. In one jail cell they had padded walls in case the defendants tried to hurt themselves. In the other jail cell there is a very small toilet that you can't flush and a very small sink. There is also a camera that lets the court officers see every move the inmates make. Finally Officer Velasquez came and picked us up in a police van and dropped us off back at school.
The trip was very fun and educational, but very scary in the jail cells. We learned what job opportunities we have in the court system when we grow up. We also learned that if we do not make the right choices we will have consequences like going to jail.