Ryan Locker, a real life AUSA, acted as the prosecuting attorney for the mock trial.

Nearly 80 eighth graders walked in the federal courthouse in Tyler on Tuesday expecting an average tour. But when the metal detector went off, they knew something was up.

The students from Bishop T.K. Gorman Catholic School and The Brook Hill soon realized this was more than a simple walk-through field trip. The rest of their afternoon involved participating in a full-fledged mock trial inside the U.S. District Courthouse.

The exercise has been held for more than 20 years and is sponsored by the Smith County Bar Association and the Smith County Bar Foundation in conjunction with Law Day on May 1. The mock trial hasn’t been held since 2019 before COVID put a pause on the educational tradition.

“It is a great learning opportunity,” said retired U.S. Attorney Ruth Yeager, who annually organizes the mock trial by working with other U.S. attorneys. “It’s a lot of fun and the students get to see how the legal system works.”

The students get a firsthand look at how the federal criminal justice system operates, from an arrest and indictment to trial and sentencing.

Shortly after going through metal detectors and a security system, the students were standing in the courthouse lobby and saw “Sam Sleuth,” played by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble, set off the metal detector.

Upon screening, security observed a gun in Sleuth’s briefcase and the character was immediately detained by a U.S. Marshal and eventually charged with two counts of possession of a firearm in a courthouse and possession of a weapon by a felon.

Students watched as security guards discovered the Glock 22 in Sleuth’s briefcase as he tried to enter the courthouse. Sleuth claimed he was a licensed private investigator with a license for the gun.

The eighth graders were escorted into the grand jury room where they were given a lesson of the process.

“You have just seen a crime in progress … you are summoned to serve on the federal court grand jury,” Yeager told students.

Students were informed someone could be fined $1,000 and jailed for three days, or both, for not showing up for jury duty.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Coan provided additional information about the process of a trial, as well as the importance of the federal courthouse. John Garrison, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Texas, gave the students insight on what his position entails.

Sixteen students were selected as the grand jury, and they were instructed on how to render an indictment for the case against Sleuth, thus the beginning of “United States of America v. Sam Sleuth.”

After the grand jury returned an indictment, 14 students were picked to serve as jurors for Sleuth’s trial. Three students were also selected as witnesses.

As the trial began, the judge, played by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Jackson, said the accused person is presumed not guilty and has a right not to testify.

Sleuth pleaded not guilty.

Eighth-grader Kerrigan Rozelle testified she saw the incident when Sleuth walked in and stated he said he was supposed to be at the courthouse.

Under cross-examination by the defense attorney, played by Bob Wells, Kerrigan said she did not see Sleuth put the gun in the briefcase.

The criminal prosecutor, played by Ryan Locker, asked for a guilty verdict, while the defense attorney asked for a not guilty verdict.

After the jury returned a guilty verdict, the judge imposed a sentence of 24 months in prison, three-year probation and acting as a teacher’s aide to eighth graders as part of community service.