Ms. Sayler’s college political science class was not in attendance at school on March 10. This was because they visited our state’s great capitol building in St. Paul to learn a little more about Minnesota’s judicial branch, along with meeting one of the justices on the court, Justice Anne McKeig.

While visiting the capitol building, the students first attended a couple of oral court arguments. One of the cases was a criminal case, and Justice McKeig later told the students that “criminal cases are [her] favorite because they tend not to be as boring as cases regarding things like taxes.” Next, the students headed down to lunch in the Capitol cafeteria. This was a great time to catch up on everything that couldn’t be talked about prior, due to the lengthy two-hour long court session. Then the students embarked on a tour of the capitol building, which entailed learning the rich and very detailed history of the building of our Capitol.

Finally, the students participated in what was, to most, the highlight of the entire trip: the chance to meet and interact with a member of Minnesota Supreme Court: Justice Anne McKeig. She brought students behind the bar of the courtroom, which is typically reserved for those participating in the hearing. Not only did she bring the group behind the bar, but McKeig also allowed them onto the bench to sit in the chairs of the justices (as pictured above). The experience she gave was truly something rare.