Tennessee Supreme Court to Hear Cases at Boys State

The Tennessee Supreme Court will bring the courtroom to Cookeville next week as it hears cases in front of hundreds of young men participating in American Legion Boys State.

SCALES – Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students – is a program designed to give students across Tennessee the opportunity to study Supreme Court cases and hear oral arguments of those cases before the court. In the last 19 years, the court has heard dozens of cases before tens of thousands of students.

This is the 13th year the Court will participate in Boys State, which is celebrating 75 years of the program in Tennessee.

Circuit Court Judge John Maddux of Cookeville has been a part of the program for 35 years and played a key role in bringing the Court to Boys State.

“The delegates will attend and hear actual arguments in real cases before the court. We cannot thank enough the Tennessee Supreme Court members for bringing their SCALES program to Tennessee Boys State,” Judge Maddux said.

Participants in Boys State are high school juniors who spend a week each May at Tennessee Technological University learning about the government by participating in educational activities that simulate local, county and state government roles.

The Tennessee Supreme Court will be at Boys State May 28 and then at Girls State at Lipscomb University May 29.

For more information about Boys State: http://www.tnboysstate.org/

For more information about the SCALES Project: http://www.tncourts.gov/programs/scales-project

Justice Lee at Boys State 2013
Justice Lee at Boys State 2013
Chief Justice Wade at Boys State 2013
Chief Justice Wade at Boys State 2013