Chattanooga: Students learn their rights

Normally filled with criminal defendants trying to avoid prison sentences, Chattanooga’s historic federal courthouse on Wednesday was packed with about 100 area high school students who got to hobnob with federal judges and talk about their rights as American citizens.

“The (U.S. Constitution) governs every aspect of their lives,” said U.S. District Magistrate Judge Susan Lee, “and these kids have questions about what they can wear to school or what they can say. The (U.S. Constitution) is much more than a historical piece of paper.”

Judge Lee organized the gathering called “Constitution Day,” now in its second year. Students from Red Bank, Hixson and Central high schools as well as area home-school students attended, asking various questions about the intricacies of the Constitution and even how they could get internships with the judges.

Inside the federal building on Georgia Avenue, the third-floor courtroom where students sat Wednesday has been host to a number of notorious proceedings, including the Jimmy Hoffa trial in the 1960s at which a Chattanooga jury convicted him of jury tampering. The same room now is hosting Chattanooga’s first-ever federal death penalty trial.

But conversation remained light during Wednesday’s court session as Chattanooga’s four federal judges freely talked and joked with the students.

In 1956, the U.S. Congress set aside Sept. 17 as Constitution Day across the nation, offering a chance for public officials such as judges to educate people on the importance of the Constitution in their everyday lives — for instance, knowing when the government can and can’t search someone’s residence.

“That was one of the biggest surprises to me about the Constitution, learning about the search-and-seizure laws and the rights that law enforcement officials have,” 17-year-old Central High School student Bethany Barclay said while standing just outside the courtroom.

U.S. District Magistrate Judge Bill Carter said the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from searches and seizures in their homes if authorities do not have probable cause, “has created thousands upon thousands of court cases.”

“It’s all about who can go into your house,” Judge Carter said.

Law enforcement officials normally must get warrants to search people’s homes by proving to a judge that there is a valid reason for the search.

Certain situations, however, do not require such a process, Judge Carter told the students, such as instances of “hot pursuits” — a bank robber running away with a bag of money. If he runs into a house, he can’t rely on the Constitution to protect him from police officers following him inside, Judge Carter said.

Another example is in “emergencies,” such as the real-life case Judge Carter described about a successful businessman who decided to start growing marijuana in his closet. When the businessman went on vacation, his alarm system accidentally went off, Judge Carter said, and law enforcement personnel had to enter his home to make sure no one was robbing it. They found the marijuana plant, however, and ended up prosecuting him on drug charges.

“He asked me, ‘Can we keep this evidence out?’” Judge Carter told the students. “I told him no.’”