Individuals and Societies students visit Toronto courthouse

The visit was organized through the Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN). 

The courthouse at 10 Armoury Street opened in 2023, replacing the previous location at Old City Hall. The facility holds 63 courtrooms, and students were free to sit in on whichever sessions they wanted, provided they maintained the expected decorum. Visiting school groups tend to avoid cases involving more sensitive subject matter. 

Civics teacher Joanne Hogan and several students attended the youth court, where they witnessed standard procedural activity and were struck by how the justice process has evolved. 

“As a result of COVID, much of it is still being done online,” Hogan says. “There’s the judge and the clerks dealing with the paperwork, but there’s also a giant screen on which most of the defendants appeared via Zoom.” 

Students watched a judge who displayed sympathy for the young offenders who were not much different in age from them. “He was very gentle with them and always ensured their guardian was present,” Hogan notes. 

One of the courthouse judges is Brock Jones ’96, and a Q-and-A with Justice Jones was organized with the students. They wanted to hear about the use of Zoom, as well as his UCC memories — he belonged to Bremner’s House — and his path to the bench.  

Student Andrew Fan noted quite a difference between real-life court action and the Hollywood representation.  

“The sessions were much slower than I imagined, not at all like the fast-paced dramatic screen re-enactments. Sometimes just getting the basic details across would take an hour or two,” he says. “Hearing witness statements and seeing suspects stand on trial helped me gain valuable insight into how the justice system functions.”

The experience was eye-opening also for fellow student Henry Wang.

“It amazed me to see the detail the judges, lawyers and clerks went through to provide a fair and honest trial,” he says. “I also appreciated the fact we could watch the trials. It’s important to have active citizen participation in the government, which this trip allowed.” 

Individuals and Societies is a mandatory credit course running for the full school year, adding a global citizenship focus for the second half. 

The mandated first part, Hogan explains, “focuses on how Canadian government works, including how the prime minister [is elected], where you fall on the political spectrum, and how a bill becomes law. We also look at the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen in a democratic country.” 

This was the first student trip to the courthouse, accommodating those who expressed interest in going. Hogan says it could become part of the curriculum. 

“The rulings made in court cases become how our society functions, which I wanted to get across to the students,” she says. “So it’s worthwhile taking them to the courthouse and seeing the system in action.”