Students observe trial

PALMER -- Mary Luna thought prosecutors caught the defendant in some conflicting statements.

Farrin Reid thought the proceedings were much quieter than court sessions on TV shows.

But mostly, all seven Glacier View School secondary students agreed it's exciting to sit in on a real manslaughter case. Just like jurors across the room, the kids took notes Wednesday as Phillip Mielke was questioned in Superior Court about his part in the deaths of two men.

The Big Lake Community Chapel pastor is charged with shooting and killing Christopher Palmer, 31, and Frank Jones, 23, in the early morning hours of April 24.

Glacier View students have followed the case via media reports, teacher Mark Owen said, and jumped at his offer to see one day's proceedings. It's part of their study of law, and each student will write an essay on the experience afterward.

Judge Bev Cutler allowed the children to come up to her desk during a morning break, explaining that cases go on all day in the Palmer courtrooms.

"It's like we're a McDonald's serving food all day," she said.

Cutler said that she, too, takes notes during court sessions. The judge uses a computer, which comes in useful for such things as deciding the value of property in a divorce case. If a husband and wife are fighting over how much the family's 1984 Taurus is worth, Cutler said, she'll just call up the Kelly Bluebook for a quote.

"You kids don't remember life without computers, but they've revolutionized how we take care of court business," she said. "Sometimes we can solve evidence problems with them."

Somebody asked if each attorney has a time limit to present a case. Cutler said yes, although it usually isn't a problem. Maybe once a year she'll have to prod an attorney who is dawdling over some relatively unimportant points, she said.

"Both of these lawyers are very experienced," Cutler said of the Mielke case. "They have not been nasty to each other. It hasn't been a trial where, if the attorneys are acting like 3-year-olds, the jury will wonder if court is always like that."

After hearing morning testimony, the Glacier View group went to Carrs for lunch and a critique of what they'd seen so far. They said it's impossible to make a snap judgment about a case, that people need all the facts the jury is getting.

"It's high interest," Owen said. "Everyone on our staff is talking about this case. There's a lot of 'what ifs.'"