St. Luke's Pupils Get Law Lesson

A Superior Court judge and a Riverside attorney taught some lessons on the law at St. Luke’s School in Barrington last Friday morning.

The lessons were taught as part of Rhode Island Law Day, sponsored by the Rhode Island Bar Association and the Rhode Island Judiciary.

Judge Stephen P. Nugent and attorney Dean G. Robinson taught a lesson on “Equality Under the Law: Civil Rights in the United States” – the theme of this year’s law day.

They presented information aimed at “soliciting student opinions, surfacing the legal issues relating to the topic, and reviewing the role of judges and lawyers” in addressing the teacher's choice of the following issues:

1) Police Questioning/Right to Arrest: Does a police officer or other individual ever have the right to stop a person and ask for their identification without any clear indication of the individual's wrongdoing?

2) False Imprisonment: Are there reasons why an innocent person would be found guilty of a crime they didn't commit? These distinctive topics are designed to stimulate active student participation in discussions aimed at helping them understand how laws directly affect them and the roles lawyers and judges play in administering justice.

3) Income Equality in the Workplace: Should people receive the same pay for doing the same job?