Sharpsburg Girl Scout troop learns about justice through visit with district judge
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Sharpsburg-based Girl Scout Troop 40426 got a firsthand look at how the state’s judicial system works via visit to their local magistrate’s office.
District Judge Matthew Rudzki hosted a group of about nine scouts and their co-leaders on Nov. 2 as part of the girls’ pursuit of a democracy badge.
“They came to court, and the first half-hour I talked about my role as the local district judge and what kind of cases we handle and what kind of cases we hear,” Rudzki said. “They asked some really great questions. They were all very inquisitive, interested in the judicial system. We toured the court. They were most interested in where we held the people who are incarcerated.”
The visit was organized by troop co-leader Courtney Cerniglia, who said most were very surprised to learn a particular thing about being a judge.
“They were really interested in finding out that judges do more than put people in jail,” she said. “They were interested to hear all the different types of cases that the magistrate’s office hears, and how they do a lot to try to help people in the community. The girls really loved trying on Judge Rudzki’s robe and using the gavel and participating in the mock trial.”
The last half-hour of the visit was a mock trial based on “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”
In the story, of course, Goldilocks enters a home of three bears. She eats their porridge. Sits in their chairs and breaks one. She also attempts to sleep in their beds.
In the mock trial, Goldilocks was charged with the heinous crime of “bad manners.”
Scouts were split into various roles including prosecution, defense, jury and witnesses.
Molly McClafferty, 8, is likely the youngest judge in Sharpsburg history. She presided over the mock trial in which Goldilocks was found not guilty.
“She didn’t mean to break the chair,” Molly said. “She thought it was just broken when she got in there. And I wouldn’t blame her for eating the porridge because I would have eaten it. And she was friends with Baby Bear so (therefore she goes free).”
Rudzki said the trial result was called jury nullification.
“It’s when the jury knows that the defendant is guilty, but they find them not guilty despite the facts,” he said.
Cerniglia, an prosecutor with the state Attorney General’s Office, said she was not surprised at the verdict.
“The next time those three little bears need to bring stronger evidence,” Cerniglia said. “I really enjoyed watching some of them take to the process. It’s always exciting to see that next generation and enjoy something that I love and was excited to share with them.”
Molly said she liked calling up the witnesses and swearing them in. The experience has her thinking about getting involved in law when she grows up.
The Scouts plan on visiting with Sharpsburg Mayor Brittany Reno on their democracy badge journey.
The district judge said he would welcome another opportunity to host Scout troops.
“For me it’s a lot of fun, and it’s great to see that these girls from the next generation are interested in public service,” Rudzki said. “Obviously, they are in a Girl Scout troop. A lot of what they do is community oriented. For them to be involved and wanting to learn about government, it’s important to me as a person who served on council and then as mayor and now as the district judge. I was in all three branches, and they are all co-equal, and they have a lot of importance.
“If a couple of them walk away from this experience and either want to go to law school, or are interested in becoming lawyers, or want to get involved in government, have an impact on the world and make it a better place, training the future is always the goal. Making sure there are good people ready to step up and take the reins when their time comes.”
Rudzki was on Sharpsburg Council from 2011-2017 and was mayor from 2018 through the end of last year.