Communities and Courts

Catalog description

This course immerses students in procedures and processes at the local Circuit and General District Courts on Court Square in Harrisonburg. Students gather information and evidence on contemporary legal proceedings and outcomes in these spaces while investigating Circuit Court archives for contextual connections. Simultaneously, at a macro level, students examine the complex relationships between community safety, individual rights, court actors, community members and multifaceted conceptualizations of justice. Students' time is split between courses on campus and in local courtrooms observing and collecting data from court proceedings and engaging with the local judiciary.