Recently, students at Park View Middle School had the honor of having special guests Magistrate Angela Poulos and Attorney Jacqueline Kelley present for Law Day.

“All of the courts are closed today,” Poulos said, explaining that the closure gives judges and lawyers the opportunity to go out in pairs to speak to students all over the state about the law. This year’s Law Day focus was the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which states in part, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

After sharing a bit about their personal backgrounds and jobs, Kelley and Poulos began to speak with the students about the 14th Amendment and its implications in everyday situations under the law. As the two spoke to the students, they were repeatedly impressed with the breadth of knowledge the students had of the law and of both past and current events to which the law would apply.

“The 14th Amendment is probably one of the most cited amendments of the Constitution,” said Kelley as she discussed what it means for people who are born in the United States, those who are dual citizens, and those who become citizens.

She discussed the Due Process clause, which she cited as being one of her favorites.

“It is about fairness and just cause,” she said. “It’s about providing people with a proper warning. For example, if I was going to lose my job, they would have to provide me with just cause, with reasons, with a hearing. A hearing gives the opportunity to hear all sides of the story. For instance, if you’re being fired for having stolen money, but you explain that your supervisor said you could, that might be a different story. Either way, you’d be heard, you’d be listened to.”

She also spoke to the students about Due Process.

“If you have your license suspended or taken away, you have the right to know what you did, the right to a hearing, the right to due process,” she said. “For example, if it was a one-way street and you were going the wrong way on the street, but you were a new driver or maybe the sign was down. You would have the right to explain.”

Kelley described the Equal Protection Clause, which speaks to providing access to the same rights for all races and ethnicities, and does not allow for anyone to be treated differently than anyone else under the law.

“The Constitution says that person in the United States has these rights, including illegal immigrants,” said Poulos. “You wouldn’t treat them any differently than a U.S. citizen.”

Kelley noted that the same thing applies for visitors to the United States.

“We should all be very proud that we treat all people very well, equally and that this is the law in the country we live in,” Poulos said.

Poulos spoke to the students about some of the cases she has seen come across her Family Court courtroom, including the Craig Price case, which the students were well aware of. This led to a discussion of when a child can be tried as an adult, rather than a juvenile, as well as the youngest age a child can be charged with an offense.

“The age of reason in Rhode Island is seven, which is considered to be the age in which a child can understand right from wrong,” Poulos said. “However, I’ve been with the Family Court for 27 years and I have never seen a seven year-old charged. The youngest I have seen charged with murder was 13 years old, and it was Craig Price. Before Craig Price, no one ever thought that a 13-year-old had the mentality and the capability to kill someone.”

According to Poulos, Price’s case was the reason why the law in Rhode Island was changed to have the ability to try juveniles as adults, depending on the heinous and premeditated nature of the crime.

“The first murder that happened when he was 13 was unsolved, a woman without children. The second murder was two years later, his second offense, a mother and two children. When he was caught, he confessed to all four murders,” she said.

Kelley and Poulos wrapped up their presentation with a series of role-playing opportunities for the students to participate in. The role-playing scenarios included current issues, such as rights to perform searches of backpacks and lockers at school, or what happens to a driver of a car when drugs are found in the car.