Spotlight on Digital Media And Learning

12.2.09 | Like any nonpracticing attorney, I sometimes like to think about what might have happened if I’d actually practiced law. And for a few hours last week, I was able to live out that fantasy by playing “Do I Have A Right” on the website OurCourts.org.

Started by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the goal of OurCourts.org is to educate middle school students about the what’s, how’s and why’s of the judicial system by making the law interesting, fun and, most of all, relevant to their lives. 

“We try to make it feel real,” says Abby Taylor, executive director of Our Courts. “Things that happen at the federal level only seem relevant to adults, [but we] want them to understand what it’s all about, and that it does have an impact on their lives.”

One way they do that is with “Supreme Decision,” a game where players can clerk for a fictional Supreme Court justice who is hearing a case that deals with something kids can relate to, like Ben v. Hamilton Middle School, a First Amendment case in which a boy is not allowed to wear a Hall of Rejects (his favorite band) t-shirt at school. With the votes of the other eight justices split down the middle, players are working for the swing vote, and they need to make a clear, compelling argument for one side.

Students, Taylor says, usually feel strongly one way or the other, but it is the process of arguing the issue that makes the game work.

“It brings them together in person or digitally, where we can have them voice their opinions and debate their point of view,” Taylor says. “They learn a whole lot of material about the Constitution and Bill of Rights without having to sit down and memorize it.”

Then there is “Do I Have A Right,” where I became managing partner of the constitutional law firm Karp and Freepress. Moments after opening our doors, the first client wandered into our digital office. Her name was Dolly Fin, and she wanted to know if her rights were violated when the government changed her “Save the Dolphins” blog post to “Save the Whales.” Luckily, my partner, Chuck Freepress, was a First Amendment expert who, after consulting with Dolly, went to court and emerged victorious.

With the “prestige points” we earned from Chuck’s big win, we hired Sixth Amendment specialist Atticus Funch. And, for the moment, I thought maybe I’d missed my calling. Then all hell broke loose.

Clients began exiting the elevator every half-minute or so asking, “Can my mom decide how I dress?” and “Can the mayor shut down my art show because he doesn’t like it?” There were soccer league gender equity cases, people arrested because of political beliefs, and something about freedom of religion. 

Though I hired new lawyers with different specialties, I found myself desperately trying to figure out whether each case had a constitutional issue, and then trying to remember which of my attorneys, if any, knew enough to handle the case. The results weren’t pretty.

Impatient clients stormed out when I made them wait too long. I assigned Atticus to the freedom of religion case. We won some, we lost some. But ultimately I realized I was way too slow, and the bigger we got, the poorer my decision-making. Running a great firm, however, isn’t the point.

Designed to be flexible, the games can be played in classrooms during a single class session, as an introduction to the Bill of Rights, or to conclude a segment on the judicial system and Supreme Court. James Gee, a professor of literacy studies at Arizona State University, is leading a team that is designing a game for Our Courts called “Guardians of Law.” The game challenges players to develop rules of law in their fictional world using existing U.S. case law and the U.S. Constitution.)


The most exciting result of a recent evaluation by roughly 500 students (and their teachers) in 13 states is that 50 percent of the participants played the game again on their own time after playing it in class. This underscores that the games not only help improve test scores (which they did), but also that they inspire action beyond the classroom.

“There are definitely learning objectives,” Taylor says. “But, underlying all of that, there is an excitement and engagement with the content, knowing you can have an impact and knowing there are going to be pieces you are interested in thinking and arguing about with friends, parents or teachers.”

According to Taylor, Our Courts has already heard from students who, after playing “Supreme Decisions,” have gone to teachers and principals to discuss their school’s dress code policies. Another student said that rather than ignoring a discussion her parents were having about a constitutional matter, she decided to get involved and argue it along with them. It’s that kind of engagement that Our Courts set out to create.

“Just arguing with your parents at the dinner table,” Taylor says, “is an exciting outcome in the real world.”