The Langley Case Day program is unique. Taking advantage of the political connections held by students and their parents, Langley Government teacher Mr. James Catlette started the program 1992, this year was the 24th Case Day, an occasion made all the more powerful by the recent passing of Justice Antonin Scalia, whose family has deep ties to Langley.

General William Suter, who served as the 19th Clerk of the Supreme Court, and worked with Scalia during his whole tenure from 1991 to 2013 said of the late Justice, ““If you students want to see good writing, read [Scalia’s] opinions. He was the greatest of the great. Faithful to his family, faithful to his faith, faithful to the law.” After lunch, an hour of precious presentation time was devoted to a tribute to Scalia, including a skype call to Mr. Catlette at his home in Florida, as well as a recounting of stories from those who knew Scalia.

Mr. Micah Herzig and Ms. Allison Cohen, both current Government teachers at Langley, have kept the Case Day tradition alive. This year’s case, Utah v. Streiff, was a 4th amendment case. As emcee Brendan Coffey put it, “We’re here today to answer two questions; whether evidence seized incident to a lawful arrest on an outstanding warrant should be suppressed because the warrant was discovered during an investigatory stop later found to be unlawful, and whether there is any easier way to say that.”

Starting off the day, attendees were treated to the National Anthem as sung by the Langley Madrigals, and a collection of pieces performed by the Chamber Orchestra. This was followed by a presentation by the History Honor Society about the History of the Exclusionary Rule, an idea used by the Supreme Court in order to empower the protections guaranteed by the 4th Amendment, formally announced in Weeks v. United States, but applied to the states in Mapp v. Ohio.

Following the presentation, Case Day attendees watched a live debate between Libertarians, Democrats, and Republicans, with one adult and one student representing each party. The debate involved questions regarding the militarization of police, police misconduct, and racism. After the debate, attendees also saw presentations from the Interest Groups Committee, the ACLU, and a video from the Education Committee, all regarding the case and how it could affect the country as a whole.

The AP Psychology Class gave a presentation on how police officers profile, before the Justices took their seats and court came into session. Justice Costle in particular went after both sides, asking hypotheticals about police stopping Langley students in the parking lot of McDonalds selling “brownies with substances that are only legal in Colorado.”

Case Day had some humor to it, in how the Justices added some levity in their questions, just like the real Court, with Chief Justice Suter questioning “You’re not just saying that because I’m the Chief Justice?”

Student lawyers Adam Speers and Priya Miller for the Respondent, Streiff and Ameen Al-Dalli and Lily Brock for the Petitioner, the State of Utah, spent the hour before lunch arguing the merits of the case before the court.

After lunch, attendees were treated to a tribute to Scalia from several of the justices attending Case Day, a skype chat with Catlette, and a statement by Suter. Following the reading of the majority and dissent opinions, given by student justices Bita Goishani and Clare Dabaldo, respectfully, representing a 6-3 split, the Majority ruled in favor of Streiff that the evidence should be excluded.