California Supreme Court’s Outreach Session Draws Fresno Students of All Ages

By Penne Soltysik December 03, 2024

On Wednesday, October 9, students from Fresno County public schools and area law schools arrived at the Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District in downtown Fresno, eager to witness the California Supreme Court at work. Several students remained outside memorizing questions they prepared for this day.

This was the second outreach session held by the California Supreme Court under Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero (the last session was held in San Diego in 2023). The court last heard oral argument in Fresno in 2010.

In the video below, Chief Justice Guerrero welcomes students to the session before inviting a few to ask each of the court's seven justices questions about their work as a judge, how they got started in law, and their advice for aspiring young attorneys. Links to more resources appear throughout the video:

The Flickr Photo Gallery below provides more details:

For the Fresno outreach session, students as young as fifth grade participated, including students from Maple Creek Elementary School where students met the Chief Justice one year ago with Administrative Presiding Justice Brad Hill from the Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District in Fresno (view video). The reason for the visit was to present the prestigious 2023 Civic Learning Award of Excellence, an honor co-sponsored by the Chief Justice with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The elementary school guests were joined by approximately 30 students from Buchanan High School, Bullard High School, Clovis High School, Clovis North High School, Clovis East High School, Clovis West High School, Coalinga High School, Justin Garza High School, Reedley High School, Roosevelt High School, and San Joaquin College of Law.

Full details are available in the media players above. Photo Credits: Judicial Council of California.